When is the Champions League draw and who can Liverpool play in round of 16?
Liverpool have booked their place in the Champions League 2024/25 round of 16 as winners of the league phase. Now Arne Slot and Co. must pause to find out who they will be pitted against in the next round.
The Reds had confirmed a top-eight finish after victory over Lille at Anfield last week, and with it automatic qualification for the last 16. That prompted Slot to rest a number of regular starters for Wednesday's trip to PSV Eindhoven, and the 3-2 loss there was of little consequence after Barcelona failed to grab the win they required to clinch top spot.
With the Champions League taking place under a new format for the first time this season, it has resulted in a complex array of possibilities for Liverpool. Here, the ECHO explains when the draw for the next round is and who they are in line to play.
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How does the new format work?
The 36-club league phase was split into four pots, based on European coefficient rankings, with every team facing two teams from each pot.
Wednesday night saw all 36 sides compete in their final fixture at 8pm to finalise the league standings. The clubs finishing in the top eight spots have advanced to the round of 16. In order, they are Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.
Teams ranked from ninth to 24th in the table will enter into a knockout play-off to determine who else enters the last 16. They will compete in a two-legged tie.
Again in order, those 16 teams are Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Juventus, Celtic, Manchester City, Sporting CP and Club Brugge.
From the knockout phase play-offs onwards, the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finished between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the first draw for the knockout phase and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will, in principle, play the return leg at home.
When is the draw for the play-off round and round of 16?
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw takes place from 11am on January 31. The fixtures will be played over the course of two weeks with the first legs kicking off on February 11/12 and the return legs taking place on February 18/19.
The winners of the play-offs will then be added to the last 16 draw, alongside the league phase's top eight teams, which will be held on February 21.
The last 16 first legs are scheduled to be played on March 4/5 and the second legs will be played on March 11/12.
Who can Liverpool face in the round of 16?
UEFA have released the official knockout phase bracket now that the league phase has concluded, confirming Liverpool can play one of four teams taking part in the play-off round. Those teams finished between 15th and 18th in the standings.
They are: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco or Brest.
The round of 16 second-leg will definitely be hosted at Anfield.
