When is the Champions League draw and knockout stage and who are Aston Villa's next opponents
Aston Villa are through to the Champions League knockout stages after beating Scottish champions Celtic at Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s side finished the night in eighth place in the league following their 4-2 victory, courtesy of a Morgan Rodgers hattrick and single goal from Ollie Watkins, avoiding a play-off to make it to the final 16 of the competition. Villa started the night in ninth, behind eighth place Bayer Leverkusen on just goal difference.
However, Serie A side Atalanta's 2-2 draw with La Liga giants Barcelona allowed Villa to overtake the Italian outfit and avoid the play-offs. Here’s all the information you need about the next stage of the tournament.
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When is the Champions League play-off draw?
The draw for the Champions League play-offs will take place on Friday, January 31, at 11am.
The draw will work with the teams finishing between ninth anf 16th being seeded in the draw. Those teams will then be drawn against an unseeded team from those who finished between 17th and 24th in the table, with the seeded team playing at home in the second leg.
The draw will also see teams paired together, meaning that the sides who finished ninth and 10th will eb drawn against those who finished in either 23rd or 24th place, with that pattern continuing throughout the draw.be
When is the Champions League last 16 draw?
The draw for the Champions League last 16 and the further knockout stages will be held on Friday, February 21.
When are the play-off fixtures played?
The play-off fixtures will take place over two legs with the first taking place on the week of the February 11/12. The second leg will take place on the week of February 18/19.
When are the last 16 fixtures played?
The first round of knockout games will be played the week of March 4/5, with the second leg taking place on March 11/12. Aston Villa are set to face Sporting Lisbon, Club Brugge, Atalanta or Borussia Dortmund.