Champions League last 16: Five English teams through, Play-Offs set for others
Five Premier League clubs—Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, and Manchester City—have secured automatic spots in the Champions League round of 16 following the conclusion of the group stage. Newcastle United must still qualify through a two-legged play-off after finishing 12th in their group.
The play-off draw will take place on Friday, January 30, at 11:00 GMT at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The 16 teams ranked 9th–24th in the group stage enter the draw, with the higher-ranked clubs seeded to play the second leg at home.
Key play-off match-ups:
Real Madrid or Inter Milan vs Bodo/Glimt or Benfica
Paris St-Germain or Newcastle United vs Monaco or Qarabag
Juventus or Atletico Madrid vs Club Brugge or Galatasaray
Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen vs Borussia Dortmund or Olympiakos
Winners of the play-offs will join the eight automatically qualified clubs in the round of 16, facing teams such as Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting, or Manchester City.
Play-Off Dates: First legs on February 17-18, second legs on February 24-25. The round of 16 matches will follow on March 10-11 and 17-18, with quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final scheduled through May 30 at Budapest’s Puskás Stadium.
Fans can watch the draw live on UEFA.com or via the official Champions League app. Teams from the same country can be drawn against each other, and repeat match-ups from the group stage are possible.
