When is the Champions League draw? Date, start time and how to watch on TV ahead of new knockout format
When is the Champions League draw? Date, start time and how to watch on TV ahead of new knockout format
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Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Celtic are all chasing Champions League glory this season. The new Champions League format for 2025 will see the knockout play-off round in action for the first time in February, to decide which teams enter the last-16.
![[Real Madrid won the final at Wembley after beating Borussia Dortmind]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/09/13/YE-Top_Photos-Sports-Photo_Gallery_85413.jpg)
The top eight teams in the final Champions League league-phase table will automatically go through to the last-16. They will be joined by the winners from the play-offs; a set of eight two-legged ties between those clubs who finished between ninth and 24th in the league standings.
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There are five British sides in the Champions League, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Celtic all hoping to go far in the competition. Here is all you need to know about the Champions League draw for the play-offs and beyond. The Champions League play-offs draw will take place on 31 January 2025. The start time has not yet been confirmed but the draw for the league stage earlier in the season took place at 5pm GMT.
The teams that finished between ninth and 16th in the league standings will be seeded for the play-offs draw, and they will each be drawn against an unseeded team that finished between 17th and 24th in the table. The seeded team will have the slight advantage of playing the second leg at home.
Teams will also be paired together in the draw, so the two sides who finished ninth and 10th will be drawn against either the 23rd or 24th placed sides; the teams who finished 11th and 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides, and so on.
