Football writer Ben Bloom looks at the remaining Premier League sides in Europe and what to expect in the knockout stages.
As the days lengthen and temperatures start to rise, European competitions reach their business end with the arrival of the round of 16.
Of the seven Premier League clubs that entered the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, only Manchester City, who fell to Real Madrid in the Champions League playoff stage, have not progressed.
But Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool remain in Europe’s leading competition, while Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea all have their eyes on other continental silverware.
The English contingent are not only fighting for quarter-final places, but also bidding to help the Premier League earn an additional fifth spot in next season’s Champions League.
Who stands in their way and what chance do they have of keeping their European dreams alive? Here is everything you need to know.
Champions League round-of-16 ties
Club Brugge v Aston Villa
First leg: Club Brugge v Aston Villa, Tuesday 4 March, 17:45 GMT
Second leg: Aston Villa v Club Brugge, Wednesday 12 March, 20:00 GMT
Guided by Unai Emery – a manager who led Spanish sides Sevilla to three Europa League titles and Villareal one – Villa have already confounded expectations in their first appearance in Europe’s top competition since 1982/83. Five wins in eight league-phase games saw them advance directly to the round of 16 with an eighth-place finish.
Their opponents, Club Brugge, are the lowest ranked side to make it this far, finishing 24th in the table and only progressing to the knockout phase playoffs on goal difference.
However, the Belgian side were one of only two to inflict defeat on Villa during the league phase, when a freak Tyrone Mings handball gifted Brugge a penalty, which they scored to claim a 1-0 win.
Brugge then lost 3-1 at Man City in their final league-phase game, but put up a far improved showing to beat Atalanta 5-2 over the two-legged playoff and advance to the last 16.
Managed by Nicky Hayen – who spent six months in charge of Welsh club Haverfordwest County in 2022 – Brugge are currently second in the Belgian Pro League, although their chances of claiming a seventh title in 10 years appear slim due to a nine-point deficit over league leaders Genk. They head into this Villa encounter having won just one of their last six league games.
Villa are on a similarly poor domestic run, winning only one of their last seven Premier League matches, although they did beat Championship side Cardiff City in the FA Cup fifth round last time out when loanees Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio starred.
They face Brentford between the two Brugge ties, and could set up an all-English quarter-final after they were drawn to play the winner of Liverpool’s match against Paris Saint-Germain.
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal
First leg: PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal, Tuesday 4 March, 20:00 GMT
Second leg: Arsenal v PSV Eindhoven, Wednesday 12 March, 20:00 GMT
This is the third straight year that Arsenal have met PSV Eindhoven in a European competition.
Arsenal progressed serenely through to the Champions League last 16, losing just once (against Inter Milan) to finish third in the league phase.
Results over recent weeks have made Europe’s top competition the best chance of Mikel Arteta’s side lifting silverware this campaign.
In addition to FA Cup and EFL Cup exits, Arsenal have failed to beat West Ham United and Nottingham Forest in their last two Premier League outings, putting them 13 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have played a match more.
Arteta has few options at his disposal even if he did want to rotate players in the continued absence of injured attacking quartet Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
After a slow start to their Champions League campaign, PSV required a 3-2 win over Liverpool in their final league-phase fixture to finish 14th. They lost 2-1 to Juventus in the knockout playoff first leg, before coming through 3-1 in extra-time of the second leg.
Ten successive wins at the start of the season provided the perfect start to their Eredivisie title defence, but one victory in their last seven domestic league games has left them eight points behind leaders Ajax. They have kept just one clean sheet in 10 Champions League matches.
They brought in Man Utd defender Tyrell Malacia on loan last month, who joins former Spurs attacker Ivan Perisic in the ranks.
It is a big month for Arsenal, who face a trip to United between Champions League ties, which are immediately followed by the Premier League visit of Chelsea.
Progression will bring a trip to Madrid for the quarter-finals, with the winner of the Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid last-16 encounter lying in wait.
Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool
First leg: PSG v Liverpool, Wednesday 5 March, 20:00 GMT
Second leg: Liverpool v PSG, Tuesday 11 March, 20:00 GMT
Liverpool head into the round of 16 as the team to beat after breezing their way through the league phase, only dropping points against PSV when already assured a top-two finish.
That, perhaps, might have provided easier opponents than a PSG side 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1, undefeated in 24 league games, and firmly on track for yet another French title.
Despite their continued domestic dominance, there are signs that PSG are not the team to fear of recent years. Luis Enrique’s side lost three of their opening five Champions League games – including a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal – and required four successive wins at the end of the league phase to avoid early elimination.
One of those saw them fight back from a 2-0 deficit against Man City to win 4-2, and they then thrashed fellow French side Brest 10-0 over two legs in the knockout playoffs.
The era of superstar forward trio Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar failed to yield a European crown, and the club has switched policy from hoovering up global stars to nurturing future talent, headed by the likes of Ousmane Dembele.
Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League is identical to PSG’s 13-point Ligue 1 advantage. That their sole outing between Champions League fixtures is against struggling Southampton should allow Slot to use his full squad and keep players fresh.
The last time Liverpool faced PSG was in the 2018/19 group stage, when Jurgen Klopp’s side went on to beat Spurs in the final. Victory here would see them face the winner of Club Brugge v Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.
Europa League round-of-16 ties
AZ Alkmaar v Tottenham Hotspur
First leg: AZ Alkmaar v Spurs, Thursday 6 March, 17:45 GMT
Second leg: Spurs v AZ Alkmaar, Thursday 13 March, 20:00 GMT
While Spurs' injury crisis – which has started to abate – has seen them struggle in the Premier League, Ange Postecoglou’s team have lost only once in the Europa League, qualifying for this match in fourth place.
They now face an AZ Alkmaar side who they beat 1-0 during the league phase, when striker Troy Parrott returned to face his former club.
The Dutch team saw off Galatasaray in the knockout playoffs, but lost their first game in eight matches across all competitions at the weekend.
Languishing in 13th in the Premier League, winning the Europa League arguably represents Spurs’ best chance of European football next season.
Real Sociedad v Manchester United
First leg: Real Sociedad v Man Utd, Thursday 6 March, 17:45 GMT
Second leg: Man Utd v Real Sociedad, Thursday 13 March, 20:00 GMT
Like Spurs, this is Man Utd’s sole remaining chance of silverware after Fulham knocked them out of the FA Cup last weekend.
United also cruised through to the Europa League last 16 as the only undefeated team in the competition, advancing in third place.
Their reward is a meeting with Real Sociedad, who have not progressed beyond this stage of any European competition since 1989.
The Spanish side, who feature former Man City man Sergio Gomez and West Ham loanee Nayef Aguerd, finished 13th in the league phase before easing past Midtjylland in the knockout play-offs. Six defeats in their last nine LaLiga games have left them ninth in the table.
Conference League round-of-16 tie
F.C. Copenhagen v Chelsea
First leg: Copenhagen v Chelsea, Thursday 6 March, 17:45 GMT
Second leg: Chelsea v Copenhagen, Thursday 13 March, 20:00 GMT
Despite fielding a largely second-string side throughout the league phase, Chelsea eased to a perfect record of six wins from six to top the Conference League table.
Copenhagen won only two of their league-phase games, before beating Heidenheim in the playoffs to reach the last 16. They are currently top of the Danish Superliga and unbeaten in 10 domestic league matches.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost three of their last five Premier League games, but still sit fifth, two points off third place.