THE inaugural Champions League league phase is over as Liverpool and Arsenal await to be drawn their last-16 opponents this afternoon.
With the play-off league phase concluding on Wednesday, the draw at 11:00am today will decide who the sides who finished in the top 8 will face off against.
The tournament from the knockout play-offs onwards is a bracket with future ties from the last 16 to the semi-finals decided by pairings based of the teams final league positions.
Who are the top 8 qualified teams?
Liverpool
Barcelona
Arsenal
Inter Milan
Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Lille
Aston Villa
The top eight will be joined by the eight winner of the knockout playoff stage who are:
Bayern Munich
Benfica
Club Brugge
Feyenoord
PSG
PSV
Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund
Who could the English teams face?
Arsenal will play either Feyenoord who knocked out AC Milan at the San Siro or PSV who beat Italian side Juventus in extra time.
Liverpool will either face Portuguese side Benfica or PSG who thrashed fellow French side Brest 10-0 on aggregate in the last round with a 7-0 second leg win.
Knockout Round rules
Teams who are from the same country can meet each other at any point.
There is no away goals rule, if a game is a draw with one side leading on away goals it will not count. UEFA got rid of the rule at the start of the 2021-22 season.
Teams which are seeded in the same couples for example Liverpool (couple 1) and Barcelona (Couple 2) will be on opposite sides of the draw and won’t be able to face each other until the final.
When are the Champions League knockout rounds?
Last 16: March 4/5 and March 11/12
Quarter-finals: April 8/9 and April 15/16
Semi-Finals: April 29/30 and May 6/7
Final: May 31st at The Allianz Arena, home of Bayern Munich
A live blog of the draw at 11:00am will follow.
