The UEFA Champions League’s first-ever league phase reached a gripping 18-game conclusion on January 29.
Liverpool and Barcelona were already guaranteed a place in the Round of 16 and Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa made sure of automatic qualification on matchday eight.
Under the old round-robin format, the Round of 16 was the first knockout round and the draw took place immediately after the group stage concluded in December.
UEFA’s adoption of the so-called ‘Swiss model’ means there are a few more moving parts. Allow us to walk you through it.
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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 inclusion of a new playoff round. The sides ranked ninth to 24th take part in two-leg playoffs.
These matches will be drawn on Friday, January 31 and contested on February 11/12 and February 18/19.
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Which teams are seeded in the Champions League Round of 16 draw?
The top eight from the league phase will be 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.
