The UEFA Champions League’s inaugural league phase concluded on January 29 with dozens of sides jockeying for their positions in the expanded knockout stages.
In the new format for 2024/25, the 36-team ladder granted the top eight sides an automatic route to the Round of 16 as seeded teams. Those finishing ninth to 24th now enter a playoff round.
Eight two-legged ties will supply the other unseeded teams for the last 16.
Confused? Allow us to walk you through how this new thing works. It will all start to look pretty familiar.
MORE: All the latest Champions League news | How does the 2024/25 Champions League work? | Full UCL match schedule
When is the Champions League Round of 16 draw?
The draw for the Champions League Round of 16 takes place on Friday, February 21.
There is no confirmed time and venue for the draw yet, but these Champions League ceremonies typically take place at 12:00 CET at UEFA’s base in Nyon, Switzerland.
The three-and-a-half-week wait between the final league-phase matches and this draw is due to the playoff round.
These matches will be drawn on Friday, January 31 and contested on February 11/12 and February 18/19.
Which teams are seeded in the Champions League Round of 16 draw?
The top eight from the league phase are seeded in the draw according to their finishing position and enter as seeded teams. This means they will play the second leg of the last-16 tie at home.
The tournament bracket is already mapped up to the Round of 16 and beyond. For example, the club that comes first or second in the league phase will face the winner of the playoff between the team that came 17th or 18 and the team that came 15th or 16th. The 10th or ninth-placed sides will face the teams in 23rd or 24th for the right to play the seventh or eighth-place finishers in the last 16.
Once teams are handed their spots in the Round of 16 bracket, their route to the final will be set. There are no restrictions on teams from the same country facing one another at any stage from this point. As such, there will be no more knockout stage draws from February 21 up to and including this season’s final in Munich on Saturday, May 31.
The below table will be updated once the knockout playoffs have concluded and the final 16 teams in the competition are known.
Teams in UEFA Champions League knockout stage
| Team | Seeded/Unseeded |
| Liverpool (ENG) | Seeded |
| Barcelona (SPA) | Seeded |
| Arsenal (ENG) | Seeded |
| Inter Milan (ITA) | Seeded |
| Atletico Madrid (SPA) | Seeded |
| Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | Seeded |
| Lille (FRA) | Seeded |
| Aston Villa (ENG) | Seeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
| — | Unseeded |
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw in full
This section will be updated once the draw for the Round of 16 has taken place.
| Round of 16 fixtures | First leg | Second leg |
| KO playoff winner vs. 1st/2nd in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winner vs. 7th/8th in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winner vs. 5th/6th in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winner vs. 3rd/4th in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winner vs. 1st/2nd in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winner vs. 7th/8th in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winnervs. 5th/6th in league phase | — | — |
| KO playoff winner vs. 3rd/4th in league phase | — | — |
When are the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 games?
The new knockout playoff round fills the space where Round of 16 first legs used to take place. As a result, the first round of the knockout stage proper has been condensed and will take place over two consecutive weeks.
Teams play the first legs of their ties on March 4 and 5, with the return matches on March 11 and 12.
Away goals do not count in the Champions League after the rule was dropped before the 2021/22 season, so ties that are level at the end of normal time in the second leg go to extra time and, if necessary, penalties.
UEFA Champions League knockout stage schedule
The quarterfinals take place in April, with the semifinal first legs on the final two days of the month and concluding in May.
The final takes place on May 31, which is 15 days before the start of FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup in the United States.
| Stage | Dates |
| Knockout playoffs | February 11/12 (first legs); February 18/19 (second legs) |
| Round of 16 | March 4/5 (first legs); March 11/12 (second legs) |
| Quarterfinals | April 8/9 (first legs); 15/16 (second legs) |
| Semifinals | April 29/30 (first legs); May 6/7 (second legs) |
| Final | May 31 |
