Atletico, Newcastle and English heavyweights set for Champions League Draw as last-16 picture locks in
The champions league draw will take place on Friday at 11: 00 GMT, finalising the 16-team knockout bracket after a string of play-off results and leaving clubs to learn not only their last-16 opponents but the quarter- and semi-final pathways that follow. Atletico Madrid’s 7-4 aggregate victory and Newcastle’s 9-3 aggregate success are among concrete outcomes that have narrowed the possibilities ahead of the Friday draw.
Champions League Draw bracket allocation and dates
On Friday, February 27, at 11: 00 GMT the draw will place the eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs into a bracket alongside the top eight finishers from the league phase. The draw will also allocate which side of the bracket every team occupies, meaning teams will immediately know the routes that could lead them to the quarter-final, semi-final and final. The competition switches to a straight knockout format from this stage, with each tie except the final contested over two legs. The first legs of the last 16 are scheduled for either 10 or 11 March, with the reverse fixtures on 17 and 18 March. The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary has been designated to host the 2025–26 final on 30 May.
Atletico Madrid confirmed as one of Liverpool’s possible opponents
Atletico Madrid completed a 7-4 aggregate win over Club Brugge to advance from the knockout play-off round and are now confirmed as the first of Liverpool’s two possible last-16 opponents. Liverpool’s other potential rival will come from the Juventus v Galatasaray tie; Galatasaray hold a 5-2 advantage over Juventus after the first leg in Istanbul. The draw on Friday will confirm which of those sides Liverpool will face.
Newcastle’s 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag secures last-16 place
Newcastle progressed into the last 16 after a 9-3 aggregate victory over Qarabag in the play-off round, joining Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as teams already in the hat. Newcastle know their last-16 opponent will be either Chelsea or Barcelona and will also discover on Friday whether Tottenham or Liverpool are potential quarter-final opponents and whether they are on course for a potential semi-final meeting with Manchester City or Arsenal.
Remaining play-off outcomes and mapped possibilities
Several play-off ties have set up clear two-way possibilities for the draw. Paris Saint-Germain hold a 3-2 lead going into their home match against Monaco, with the winner set to face Chelsea or Barcelona. Galatasaray’s 5-2 aggregate lead over Juventus gives them the chance to play Liverpool or Tottenham. Real Madrid lead Benfica 1-0 and could be drawn to face Sporting or Manchester City. Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 advantage over Atalanta would earn them the right to play Arsenal or Bayern Munich. Bodo/Glimt eliminated Inter Milan and will face either Manchester City or Sporting. Atletico’s place sets up a clash with either Tottenham or Liverpool in the last 16. Bayer Leverkusen will be drawn to play Bayern Munich or Arsenal, and top seeds Arsenal have been identified as facing Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta in the last-16 possibilities.
Seeding from the league phase and its knock-on effects
Seeding is determined by final positions in the league phase: seeded sides are the teams that finished in the top eight and are afforded the advantage of playing the second leg of their last-16 tie at home. For the first time, league-phase finishing positions will 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 receive home advantage in their quarter-final second legs. The two sides that finish top and runner-up will be seeded for the semi-finals and would play the second leg of a semi at home if they advance that far. If a seeded team fails to progress, the team that eliminates them will inherit that seeding position.
At the start of the week English entrants knew their opponents would be drawn from one of four clubs; with the midweek play-offs concluding that list has narrowed to two in many ties ahead of Friday’s draw. The earliest chance for an all-English last-16 meeting is Newcastle v Chelsea, while other all-English clashes could first arise in the quarter-finals, where Manchester City could meet Arsenal and Chelsea or Newcastle could face Tottenham or Liverpool.
What makes this notable is how recent play-off results—Atletico’s 7-4 progression, Newcastle’s 9-3 aggregate and multiple two-goal leads elsewhere—have reduced uncertainty and crystallised a set of likely matchups, but the draw on Friday remains the decisive step that will pair the confirmed 16 teams and lock in the bracket paths to the Puskas Arena final on 30 May.
