Liverpool, as the only team in the Champions League entering the never-before-seen January group stage matches with a 100 per cent win record, sit comfortably at the top of the 32-club table. Should they avoid defeat against Lille they are assured of qualifying directly into the last-16 as well.

Teams all the way down to 26th in the table will likely still fancy their chances of progressing in an exciting-looking period coming up with just two games remaining until the teams progressing are all confirmed. Most sides now enter an unprecedented couple of weeks of permutations and uncertainty, although Arne Slot can be very relaxed indeed.

His Liverpool squad have given themselves a giant advantage over a busy festive and New Year period whereby they can afford to rest and rotate throughout January. Manchester City and Arsenal, for example, are not so fortunate.

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The frustration for Liverpool is that despite their form in Europe, there will still be a prolonged wait before the serious business starts again, should qualification straight to the last-16 be secured. Outside of finishing off the extended eight-match group stage, Slot and his players will have to wait until March before playing European football once again.

Here, the ECHO has all you need to know on the knockout rounds and draws.

When are the Champions League knockout stages?

The new format means that, unlike in previous years, there is a split on the cards. The top eight teams will all go directly through the last-16 whereas those between ninth and 24th will go into a play-off round.

So, matchday seven is being played this midweek (January 21 and 22) whilst the last set of games will all take place on the same date and time on January 29. There is then a small gap for the play-offs.

The first legs will be on February 11 or 12 with the return fixtures played one week later on February 18 or 19. Liverpool, therefore, could get the entirety of the month out of Champions League action.

The last-16 is due to be played on March 4 and 5 with second legs the following week. By March 12 Liverpool will know their fate and who is left in the final eight.

When is the draw for the Champions League knockout stage?

There is good news and bad news here for Liverpool. The good news is that once through the play-offs they will only have one draw for them to learn their pathway through the final as it is being done in one go rather than in increasingly small events as has been the norm.

The bad news is that due to the play-offs, Liverpool may well have to wait until February 21 before their name appears in a draw. That is because the play-off draw will be held on January 31 after the completion of matchday eight. The round-of-16 draw is then nearly a whole month later.