Champions League Draw sets last-16 ties, dates and format
The champions league draw takes place on Friday at 11: 00 GMT, when sixteen teams will discover their opponents and the side of the bracket that determines potential quarter-final, semi-final and final routes.
Champions League Draw at 11: 00 GMT on Friday
On Friday February 27 the draw for the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals will be made from 11: 00 GMT (11am GMT). Sixteen teams will be in the hat: the eight top finishers from the league phase and the eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs.
Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur were already among the top-eight seeds, and Newcastle joined them in the last 16 after a 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag in the play-off round. Atletico Madrid completed a 7-4 aggregate victory over Club Brugge to advance from the play-off round and is now confirmed as one of Liverpool's two possible opponents.
Which English clubs are already in the hat
Six English clubs are involved at this stage: Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle. Newcastle will face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the round of 16 after their 9-3 aggregate play-off success, and could meet Chelsea as soon as the last 16.
English sides will learn not only their immediate opponents but whether they might meet domestic rivals later on: Newcastle will find out on Friday if Tottenham or Liverpool are potential quarter-final opponents and whether they could be on course for a potential semi-final with Manchester City or Arsenal. The earliest opportunity for any other all-English meetings comes in the quarter-finals, with Manchester City able to meet Arsenal and Chelsea or Newcastle able to meet Tottenham or Liverpool.
Play-off winners, pending ties and confirmed match-ups
Several play-off outcomes have already set up two-way possibilities for seeded teams. Atletico Madrid's 7-4 aggregate win over Club Brugge confirmed one of Liverpool's potential opponents; Liverpool's other possible rival will emerge from Juventus versus Galatasaray, where Galatasaray hold a 5-2 advantage after the first leg in Istanbul last week.
Other play-off situations and leads in remaining ties include: Paris Saint-Germain hold a 3-2 lead before hosting Monaco, with the winner set to face Chelsea or Barcelona; Real Madrid lead Benfica 1-0; Borussia Dortmund hold a 2-0 lead over Atalanta for the right to play Arsenal or Bayern Munich; and Bodo/Glimt eliminated Inter Milan and will face either Manchester City or Sporting. Bayer Leverkusen will play Bayern Munich or Arsenal, and Galatasaray's 5-2 advantage over Juventus also feeds into Liverpool and Tottenham permutations.
At the start of the week, English sides knew their last-16 opponents could be one of four teams; with the midweek play-offs concluding that list has been reduced to two for Friday's draw.
Key pairings on the table
The draw will confirm precise opponents, but current two-way possibilities for the English clubs are listed as follows:
- Arsenal: Bayer Leverkusen or Borussia Dortmund/Atalanta
- Chelsea: Newcastle or Monaco/PSG
- Liverpool: Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray/Juventus
- Manchester City: Bodo/Glimt or Benfica/Real Madrid
- Newcastle: Chelsea or Barcelona
- Tottenham: Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray/Juventus
Format, seeding and the March schedule
The eight winners of the play-offs join the top-eight finishers from the league phase in a knockout format. From the last 16 onward every tie other than the final is contested over two legs.
Seeding for the last 16 is determined by final ranking in the league phase: seeded sides are the teams that finished in the top eight and they are given the advantage of playing the second leg at home. This season is the first in which league-phase finishing positions also influence 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 play the second leg of their quarter-final at home. The two sides who finish top and runner-up in the league will also be seeded for the semi-finals and would play the second leg of their semi-final 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.
Last-16 first legs will take place on either 10 or 11 March, with the reverse fixtures scheduled for 17-18 March. The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary will host the 2025-26 final on 30 May.
The champions league draw on Friday will lock in the brackets that determine each club's path through to those March dates and, potentially, to the Puskas Arena final on 30 May.
