Champions League Draw to Define Last-16 Paths for Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and Others
The Champions League Draw on Friday, February 27 at 11: 00 GMT will determine the 16 teams' last-16 opponents and place every club on a side of the knockout bracket. The draw matters now because it not only fixes two-legged last-16 pairings but also sets the potential quarter-final and semi-final routes that are influenced by league-phase seeding.
Champions League Draw: date, time and bracket allocation
The draw will be held from 11: 00 GMT on Friday, February 27 and will allocate a side of the bracket for each team so clubs will immediately know who they could face in the quarter-final, semi-final and final. From this stage the competition adopts a knockout format in which every tie other than the final is contested over two legs.
Premier League contingent confirmed in the hat
Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are already guaranteed places in the last 16, and Newcastle United have progressed to join them after completing their play-off tie. Newcastle recorded a 6-1 first-leg win over Qarabag and sealed their passage with a 9-3 aggregate victory. The Magpies will face either Chelsea or Barcelona in their last-16 tie, and Friday's draw will also reveal whether they could meet Tottenham or Liverpool in the quarter-finals and whether a semi-final with Manchester City or Arsenal could be on the horizon.
Liverpool's possible opponents: Atletico confirmed, Juventus or Galatasaray to decide the other
Atletico Madrid have been confirmed as one of Liverpool's two possible last-16 opponents after completing a 7-4 aggregate victory over Club Brugge. Liverpool's other potential rival will emerge from the Juventus vs Galatasaray tie: Galatasaray hold a 5-2 advantage after the first leg in Istanbul. Atletico's progression also sets up a separate last-16 pairing in which Atletico will face either Tottenham or Liverpool.
Play-off winners and midweek outcomes that shaped the hat
The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs join the top eight finishers from the league phase in the draw. Several play-off outcomes confirmed teams and narrowed possibilities: Bodo/Glimt eliminated Inter Milan and will be one of the options Manchester City could draw, Bayer Leverkusen advanced and will face either Bayern Munich or Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund hold a 2-0 lead over Atalanta for the right to play Arsenal or Bayern Munich, Real Madrid lead Benfica 1-0, and Paris Saint-Germain hold a 3-2 lead before hosting Monaco with the winner set to face Chelsea or Barcelona. With the midweek play-offs concluded, many English sides have reduced their pool of potential opponents from four to two.
Seeding, schedule and home-leg advantages determined by league phase position
Seeding is driven by final positions in the league phase: the top eight finishers are seeded for the last 16 and receive the advantage of playing the second leg at home. This season, league-phase positions will also influence seeding for the quarter-finals and semi-finals for the first time. Teams finishing first to fourth are seeded for the quarter-finals and therefore earn the home advantage in the second leg of that tie; the two sides who finish top and runner-up in the league are seeded for the semi-finals and would play the second leg of a semi at home if they reach that stage. If a seeded team fails to progress, the team that eliminates them will inherit their seeding position.
Timing of fixtures and wider implications for English matchups
Last-16 first legs are scheduled for either 10 or 11 March, with the reverse fixtures set for 17-18 March. The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary has been named as the venue for the 2025-26 final on 30 May. The earliest possible all-English meeting is in the last 16 if Newcastle are drawn against Chelsea; other potential all-English contests could first arise in the quarter-finals, where Manchester City might meet Arsenal, or Chelsea or Newcastle could be paired with Tottenham or Liverpool. What makes this notable is that the draw simultaneously fixes immediate opponents and maps a path that is now materially shaped by league-phase seeding decisions.
