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When is it? Which teams are involved? When are the fixtures? All you need to know about the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw.
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw takes place at 12:00 CET on Friday 21 February at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
The top eight sides in the league phase qualified automatically for the round of 16, where they are joined by the eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs, which are new to the competition in 2024/25.
From the knockout phase play-offs onwards the tournament is a bracket with potential opponents in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals also pre-defined by pairings which are determined by teams’ final league positions. For example, teams that finished first and second in the league phase will face the winners of the knockout phase play-off ties involving the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th-placed teams in the round of 16; teams that finish third or fourth will be drawn against the winners of the knockout phase play-off ties involving the 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th-placed teams, and so on.
Which teams are in the Champions League round of 16 draw?
The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs join the top eight sides from the league phase in the round of 16 draw. The league phase top eight will be seeded for the round of 16 draw and will, in principle, play their return legs at home.
League phase top eight (seeded, ordered by league phase position)
1.Liverpool (ENG)
2.Barcelona (ESP)
3.Arsenal (ENG)
4.Inter (ITA)
5.Atleti (ESP)
6.Leverkusen (GER)
7.Lille (FRA)
8.Aston Villa (ENG)
Knockout phase play-off winners (unseeded, ordered by league phase position)
10.Dortmund (GER)
11.Real Madrid (ESP)
12.Bayen München (GER)
14.PSV (NED)
15.Paris (FRA)
16.Benfica (POR)
19.Feyenoord (NED)
24.Club Brugge (BEL)
How can I watch the draw?
How does the round of 16 draw work?
The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8).
The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into one of two positions in the round of 16 against the relevant winner of the knockout phase play-offs, whose position was determined by the knockout phase play-off draw.
Four bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of each pair of seeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league rankings.
The draw allocates the side of the bracket for all the seeded teams, starting with the teams ranked 7/8 and finishing with the teams 1/2.
One ball is taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 7 and 8) and is opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl is placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket (see bracket graphic below). The other seeded team of the pairing is then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket (see below).
The same procedure is carried out with the remaining seeded teams.
In principle, the seeded clubs play the return leg at home.
How does the Champions League quarter-final draw work?
The draw is made to determine the order of the matches (i.e. which team will host the first leg and which team the return leg) as all the potential opponents are known until the final.
Four bowls are prepared for this draw, two for the silver side of the bracket and two for the blue side of the bracket. Each bowl contains two balls representing the winners of the round of 16 matches from one rung of the relevant side of the bracket, with the first silver bowl containing slips of paper marked ‘Winners R16 1’ and ‘Winners R16 2’ and the second silver bowl ‘Winners R16 3’ and ‘Winners R16 4’.
The first bowl on the blue side will contain slips of paper marked ‘Winners R16 5’ and ‘Winners R16 6’ and, finally, ‘Winners R16 7’ and ‘Winners R16 8’ in the second bowl on the blue side.
The draw starts by shuffling and then drawing the balls placed in the first bowl of the silver side of the bracket. The first ball drawn from this bowl indicates the team which will play the first match of the quarter-final at home, and the second ball the team which will play the return leg at home.
The procedure is repeated with the remaining bowls to complete the quarter-final pairings.
When do the Champions League round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals take place?
The dates for the remainder of the knockout phase are as follows:
Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March
Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April
Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May
Final: 31 May (Munich)
