Everything you need to know about the draw for the next round of Europe’s premier cup competition. The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League will take place at Uefa headquarters this Friday, after the conclusion of eight intriguing play-off ties in midweek. Europe’s most prestigious cup competition sees the end of the inaugural knockout play-off round tonight, with Manchester City looking to overturn a 3-2 deficit away to Real Madrid in the pick of the games.
Already out are Celtic after a tragic last-second goal conceded at Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, the Germans joining Feyenoord, Club Brugge and Benfica in booking their spot in this Champions League draw via the play-offs. Friday’s draw will see Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and the rest of the top eight sides learn their potential routes to the final, as the business end of the competition begins in earnest in March.
Here’s everything you need to know:. The draw for the next rounds of the Champions League takes place at 11am GMT on Friday, 21 February at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw will be streamed live on Uefa’s website and, in the UK, on TNT Sports. You can also follow dedicated coverage on The Independent’s live blog on the day. The teams who finished in the top eight of the competition's new league phase table automatically qualified for the last 16.
Uefa paired off every team based on their first-phase league position into a predetermined bracket, which will affect who they can face in the last-16. According to the new rules, the seeded sides will all play the second legs of their ties at home. Seeded:. Unseeded:. Based on the seedings, the draw will determine the following ties:. Brest or PSG vs Liverpool or Barcelona. Benfica vs Liverpool or Barcelona.
Club Brugge vs Lille or Aston Villa. Sporting or Dortmund vs Lille or Aston Villa. Man City or Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen. Feyenoord vs Inter or Arsenal. Juventus or PSV vs Inter or Arsenal. From the knockout play-offs onwards the tournament is a bracket, so potential opponents in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were also pre-determined by pairings that were set according to league positions.
Once again, the bracket was set after the end of the league phase, so teams already know potential opponents. The last-16 draw will lay out this bracket in full on Friday, with a further draw on the day to determine the order of the matches (i.e. who plays at home in each leg). Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025. Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025. Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025. Final: 31 May 2025 (Allianz Arena, Munich).
