The Champions League group stages are over and we’ve got a much better idea of who will play who in the knockout stages. Who will the English sides and Celtic face?
Pep Guardiola faces a potential return to Bayern Munich in the play-offs after his Manchester City side beat Club Brugge to continue their Champions League campaign.
But City will face a tough test to reach the last 16 with City and Celtic facing either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid for a chance to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen after that in the last 16.
“Real Madrid or Bayern Munich – one is the king of the competition, the other one is maybe the second or third king of the competition,” Guardiola said after City’s potential opponents were revealed.
Aston Villa snuck into the top eight by the skin of their teeth after Atalanta failed to beat Barcelona and dropped into the play-offs, meaning Unai Emery’s side will face one of Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting or Club Brugge in the last 16.
Arsenal and Liverpool already knew their automatic progression was secured.
Liverpool top the overall table and will now face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco or Brest.
Arsenal could face one of two Serie A giants with AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus their possible last-16 opponents.
When is the Champions League draw?
The draw for the Champions League play-offs will be held on Friday January 31 at approximately 11am UK and Irish time. You can follow it on Sky Sports digital and the Sky Sports App from 10.30am.
Draw format
Teams finishing between ninth and 16th in the league will be seeded for the play-off round.
They will face an unseeded team that finished between 17th and 24th in the table – with the seeded team also having the benefit of playing the second leg at home.
Sides will also be paired together in the draw, meaning that the two sides who finished ninth and 10th will be drawn against either the 23rd or 24th placed sides.
Teams who finished 11th and 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides, and so on.
The eight winners from the play-offs will meet the teams who finished in the top eight from the initial league phase in the last-16, where the familiar theme of knockout rounds will run all the way to the final.
When are the knockout stages?
- The Champions League play-offs will take place over two legs on the weekdays of February 11 and February 12, as well as February 18 and February 19.
- Last-16 games will be played on March 4 and March 5, with the second legs occurring on March 11 and March 12.
- The quarter-finals are on April 8 and April 9, with the return legs on April 15 and April 16.
- The semi-finals will take place on April 29 and April 30, with second legs on May 6 and May 7.
- This year’s Champions League final is at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on May 31.
Who will British teams play in the next round – and who could they face in the last 16?
Liverpool (Ranked No 1)
Round of 16: vs PSG (15th), Benfica (16th), Monaco (17th) or Brest (18th).
Arsenal (Ranked No 3)
Round of 16: vs AC Milan (13th), PSV (14th), Feyenoord (19th) or Juventus (20th).
Aston Villa (Ranked No 8)
Round of 16: vs Atalanta (9th), Borussia Dortmund (10th), Sporting (23rd) or Club Brugge (24th).
Celtic (Ranked No 21)
Knockout playoffs: vs Bayern Munich (11th) or Real Madrid (12th).
Round of 16: vs Atletico Madrid (5th) or Bayer Leverkusen (6th).
Manchester City (Ranked No 22)
Knockout playoffs: vs Bayern Munich (11th) or Real Madrid (12th).
Round of 16: vs Atletico Madrid (5th) or Bayer Leverkusen (6th).
Why there could be two all-British quarter-finals…
We won’t know the exact format of the tournament beyond the play-offs until February, when the last-16 draw is held.
But, there is a chance there could be two all-British quarter-finals.
After finishing first and eighth, should Liverpool and Aston Villa win their last-16 games they may well end up facing one another in the last eight.
Likewise one of Celtic and Manchester City will set up a potential quarter-final with Arsenal if they win their play-offs and then beat Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
Who are all the teams through to the next round?
Confirmed in round of 16
Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, Aston Villa.
Confirmed in knockout phase play-offs
Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSV, PSG, Benfica, Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Juventus, Celtic, Man City, Sporting, Club Brugge.
Eliminated
Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bologna, Crvena Zvezda, Sturm Graz, Sparta Prague, RB Leipzig, Girona, RB Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys.
