When Is The Champions League Draw — How Friday’s 11:00 GMT draw will reshape the knockout map

The key question on club calendars is when is the champions league draw — it happens on Friday at 11: 00 GMT, and more than simple pairings are at stake. This draw will allocate a side of the bracket for every team, fixing potential quarter-final, semi-final and final paths, and applying seeding rules that now carry through beyond the last 16.

When Is The Champions League Draw — the bracket shift and why it matters

Here’s the part that matters: the draw doesn’t just name opponents. By assigning each club to a bracket half and carrying seeding rules forward, Friday’s allocation changes how teams plan travel, rotation and matchup priorities for what could be a longer route to the final. This season is the first in which league-phase positions influence seeding for quarter-finals and semi-finals, so finishing positions will have consequences beyond the group stage.

Draw mechanics and immediate consequences

Sixteen teams will discover their opponents in the Champions League knockout draw on Friday at 11: 00 GMT. The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs will join the top eight sides from the league-phase table in the draw. From this point onward the competition adopts a knockout format, with each fixture other than the final contested over two legs. Friday's draw will also allocate a side of the bracket for all teams, meaning they will know who they could potentially meet in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.

Who’s already in the hat and recent play-off outcomes

Clubs already in the hat include Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Newcastle joined them in the last 16 after a 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag in the play-off round. The Champions League bracket before the last-16 play-offs will therefore mix those top-eight league finishers with the eight play-off winners.

Liverpool’s confirmed possibilities and play-off results that decided them

Liverpool now know they will meet either Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray in the last 16. Galatasaray emerged as the winners from their two-legged knockout play-off tie with Juventus on Wednesday night. Atletico secured their place in the Round of 16 by overcoming Club Brugge on aggregate on Tuesday evening. The Reds progressed from the league phase as a seeded qualifier in third place and will, therefore, be paired with either the Spanish or Turkish club during the draw on Friday.

The first leg of Liverpool’s last-16 tie is scheduled to be played on March 10/11 and the return fixture at Anfield on March 17/18.

Schedule, seeding details and the road to the final

• Last-16 first legs will take place on either 10 or 11 March; reverse fixtures are scheduled for 17-18 March.
• The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary will host the 2025-26 final on 30 May.
• As with the play-offs, teams' final ranking in the league phase will influence seeding in the last 16, with seeded sides—those that finished in the top eight of the league—being given the advantage of playing second legs at home.
• This is the first season that the position in which teams have placed in the league phase will also influence seeding for the quarter-final and semi-finals.
• Teams finishing first to fourth at the end of the league phase will be seeded for the quarter-finals and given home advantage in their quarter-final tie second legs.
• The two sides who finish top and runner-up in the league will also be seeded for the semi-finals, earning the benefit of playing 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.

It’s easy to overlook, but the inheritance rule—where the side that eliminates a seeded team takes their seeding—means a single upset can ripple through bracket advantages later on.

Quick checklist before the draw

• Confirm time: Friday, 11: 00 GMT — sixteen teams to be paired.
• Remember Liverpool’s possible opponents: Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray; first leg March 10/11, return at Anfield March 17/18.
• Top seeds Arsenal will be drawn against Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta.
• Newcastle reached the last 16 after a 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag in the play-off round.
• Seeding changes now affect quarter- and semi-final home-leg advantages; finishing positions 1–4 matter for quarter seeding, top two for semi seeding.
• There are ongoing storylines: whether seven Premier League clubs could qualify for the Champions League, and concerns that Italian clubs are on the brink of historic embarrassment.

The real question now is how clubs will balance immediate knock-out aims with preserving a seeding position that could pay dividends deep into the knockout phase. Recent play-off results have already set several pairings and left others to be settled in Friday’s draw, so the bracket map that emerges at 11: 00 GMT will dictate tactical choices for March and beyond.