When Is The Champions League Draw — Premier League Sides Learn Last-16 Fates
Fans and clubs are asking when is the champions league draw as the competition reaches its knockout stage: the draw is set for Friday at 11am in Nyon, Switzerland, with 16 teams remaining and six Premier League sides among them. The outcome will determine specific last-16 pairings that are already limited to two possible opponents for each qualified club.
When Is The Champions League Draw — timing and location
The draw will take place on Friday at 11am in Nyon, Switzerland (11am UK time). That session will set the last-16 ties and also determine quarter-final and semi-final paths for the remaining 16 teams. Round-of-16 match dates are scheduled across March 10/11 for first legs and March 17/18 for return fixtures; the round-of-16 match schedule will be released on Friday evening. The quarter-final match schedule will be confirmed on March 19 and the semi-final schedule on April 16.
Liverpool: seeded third and awaiting Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray
Liverpool advanced from the league phase as a seeded qualifier in third place and now face either Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray in the last 16. Atletico secured their place by overcoming Club Brugge on aggregate on Tuesday evening, while Galatasaray emerged as winners from their two-legged knockout play-off tie with Juventus on Wednesday night. Liverpool's first leg is slated for March 10/11 with the return at Anfield on March 17/18.
Chelsea: top-eight finish, Napoli win and potential reunion with PSG or Newcastle
Chelsea clinched a top-eight finish in the league phase last month after a 3-2 victory away at Napoli, guaranteeing their seeded status in the draw. The Blues will be drawn against either Paris Saint-Germain or Newcastle United; those possibilities arose from the play-off ties PSG versus Monaco and Newcastle against Qarabag. Paris Saint-Germain sealed progression with a 2-2 draw in the second leg against Monaco and advance 5-4 on aggregate. Newcastle confirmed their spot after eliminating Qarabag with a 9-3 aggregate score.
Seeded status and the six Premier League clubs' two-way options
Six Premier League sides remain among the 16 teams. Seeded clubs — those finishing in the top eight of the league phase — will play the second leg of their last-16 ties at home. Arsenal topped the league phase and will therefore have home advantage in the second leg for as far as they progress. At the start of the week English clubs knew each of their opponents would be one of four clubs; with the play-off conclusions that field has now been narrowed to two possibilities for each team.
The remaining seeded/unseeded pairings are: Arsenal versus Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta; Chelsea versus Newcastle or Paris Saint-Germain; Liverpool versus Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray; Manchester City versus Bodo/Glimt or Real Madrid; Newcastle versus Chelsea or Barcelona; Tottenham versus Atletico Madrid or Galatasaray. Every team’s potential opponents have thus been trimmed to two options, and clubs may be drawn against teams from the same country or sides they have already played in the competition.
Domestic matchups: earliest possible meetings and knockout pathway
The earliest opportunity for an all-English last-16 meeting is Newcastle against Chelsea. Other domestic clashes cannot occur until the quarter-finals: Manchester City could meet Arsenal in the last eight, and either Chelsea or Newcastle could face Tottenham or Liverpool at that stage. The draw will also set quarter-final and semi-final brackets, meaning Friday’s session will shape possible future domestic encounters as well as immediate last-16 ties.
Play-off results that finalised the two-option lists
Recent play-off conclusions supplied the final pieces of the last-16 puzzle: Paris Saint-Germain progressed from their Monaco tie after a 2-2 second leg and 5-4 aggregate score; Newcastle completed their qualification after eliminating Qarabag 9-3 on aggregate; Galatasaray advanced from a two-legged tie with Juventus on Wednesday night; and Atletico advanced by overcoming Club Brugge on aggregate on Tuesday evening. With those results in place, each club left in the competition now faces one of two confirmed opponents when the draw is made.
The draw at 11am in Nyon will therefore convert a list of narrowed possibilities into concrete fixtures across March 10/11 and March 17/18, setting the stage for the knockout phase to begin and for quarter-final and semi-final timetables to follow on March 19 and April 16 respectively.
