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.
Real Madrid comfortably swept Manchester City aside as Kylian Mbappe scored a stunning hat-trick at the Bernabeu, while Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Brest in an all-French clash to go through with a 10-0 aggregate scoreline.
Celtic suffered heartbreak with a 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:
When is the draw for the Champions League last 16?
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.
How can I watch the Champions League draw?
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.
Which teams have qualified for the Champions League last-16?
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:
How the Champions League last-16 draw will pan out
Based on the seedings, the draw will determine the following ties:
PSG or Benfica vs Liverpool or Barcelona
PSV or Feyenoord vs Arsenal or Inter
Real Madrid or Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen
Club Brugge or Borussia Dortmund vs Lille or Aston Villa
When is the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals?
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).
What are the Champions League knockout matchdays?
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)
