Champions League Fixtures: last-16 draw set for Friday 27 February at 11:00 GMT
The Champions League Fixtures draw will be held on Friday 27 February at 11: 00 GMT in Nyon, mapping the last 16 and the sides of the bracket that determine potential quarter-final, semi-final and final opponents. That bracket, the seeding rules carried over from the league phase and the March match dates make the draw decisive for clubs already qualified and those completing play-off ties.
Draw timing and location in Nyon
The draw takes place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, beginning at 11: 00 GMT on Friday 27 February. The procedure will allocate a side of the bracket for every team, so each club will learn not only its last-16 opponent but who it could meet in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.
Clubs already in the hat and the play-off picture
Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are already among the top-eight sides from the league phase and will be seeded in the draw. Newcastle United is on course to reach the last 16 after a 6-1 win over Qarabag in the play-off first leg; that match took place in Azerbaijan and Newcastle followed it with a return meeting in the North-East on Tuesday.
The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs will join the top-eight finishers from the league phase in the draw and meet those sides in the last 16.
How seeding and bracket placement will affect ties
As with the play-offs, teams' final ranking in the league phase will influence seeding for the last 16: seeded sides are those that finished in the top eight and are given the advantage of playing the second leg of their last-16 tie at home. This season is the first in which league-phase position also affects seeding for the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
Teams finishing first to fourth at the end of the league phase will be seeded for the quarter-finals and therefore given the home advantage in their quarter-final second legs. The two sides who finish top and runner-up in the league will be seeded for the semi-finals and would play the second leg of their semis at home should they reach that stage. If a seeded team does not progress to the quarter or semi-finals, the team that knocks them out will inherit their seeding position.
Club-by-club potential opponents in the last 16
Top seeds Arsenal will be drawn against one of Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta. Liverpool and Tottenham, who finished third and fourth respectively in the league phase, will meet one of Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus.
Manchester City will be drawn against one of Bodo/Glimt, Inter Milan, Real Madrid or Benfica. Chelsea secured a top-eight finish by beating Napoli 3-2 in Naples last month, which meant they avoided the play-off round and will meet one of the play-off winners; Chelsea could face Newcastle United, Qarabag, Paris Saint-Germain or Monaco in the Round of 16.
Paris Saint-Germain beat Monaco 3-2 in the Principality last week and reconvene in the French capital on Wednesday evening. Should Chelsea advance from their Round of 16 tie, they would face one of Galatasaray, Juventus, Tottenham, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid or Club Bruges in the quarter-finals.
Match schedule, bracket progression and final venue
Last-16 first legs will take place on either 10 or 11 March, with the reverse fixtures scheduled for 17 or 18 March. In principle, Liverpool will be away for the first leg on 10 or 11 March and will host the return fixture at Anfield on 17 or 18 March.
From the last-16 stage onward the competition adopts a knockout format, with each fixture other than the final contested over two legs. The teams qualifying from the Round of 16 will follow the path of the bracket until the final and, as in previous rounds, the team in the bottom row of each match pairing will play the second leg of the relevant tie at home. The winners of the semi-final on the silver side of the bracket will be designated as the nominal home team for the final. The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary will host the 2025-26 final on 30 May.
