The round of 16 of the Champions League will be drawn on Friday, the drawing in the UEFA headquarters in Nyon begins at 12 p.m.
As with the draw of the intermediate round (playoffs), there are so -called lottery pairs among the already qualified round of 16. All teams who play along will know in advance which two opponents are possible.
This constellation results from the tournament tree (table places in brackets):
- The winner from Feyenoord Rotterdam against AC Milan (first leg 1-0) plays against Arsenal or Inter Milan.
- The winner from Juventus Turin against PSV Eindhoven (first leg 2-1) plays against Arsenal or Inter Milan.
- The winner from Celtic Glasgow against Bayern Munich (First leg 1: 2) plays against Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
- The winner from Manchester City against Real Madrid (first leg 2: 3) plays against Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
- The winner from Sporting Lisbon against Borussia Dortmund (First leg 0: 3) plays against Lille OSC or Aston Villa.
- The winner from FC Bruges against Atalanta Bergamo (first leg 2-1) plays against Lille OSC or Aston Villa.
- The winner from AS Monaco against Benfica Lisbon (first leg 0: 1) plays against FC Liverpool or FC Barcelona.
- The winner from Stade Brest against Paris Saint-Germain (first leg 0: 3) plays against FC Liverpool or FC Barcelona.
This makes it possible to meet two clubs from the Bundesliga: Bayern Munich could meet Bayer Leverkusen.
The best eight teams in the final table have reached the round of 16 and have home rights as “set” teams in the second leg. The playoff winners play at home in the first leg. The away goal rule has not been in effect since 2021.
Tournament tree of the Champions League
The draw runs like this:
- The position in the tournament tree of the eight playoff winners has already been set when the playoffs were drawn.
- There are four loose pots. There is a pair of lots in everyone, such as Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético Madrid.
- Both teams are drawn in one of the two possible positions in the tournament tree.
Teams from the same country can meet. This restriction was only valid in the league. Clubs that have already played against each other in the league can be drawn into an encounter.
Further draw for home rights from the quarter -finals
Then it is continued to determine how home rights are distributed in the further co-rounds. The same procedure is then available for the semi -finals.
There used to be a draw for the final, recently a previously defined half of the tournament tree “Home Right” in the final (in the graphic above it is the lower half), but that only technical things like the selection of jerseys are concerned anyway.
The other dates
- Right -wing finals: 4./5. and 11./12. March
- Quarter -finals: 8./9. and 15./16. April
- Semi -finals: 29./30. April and 6th/7th May
- Final game in Munich: May 31
View of the stadium in Munich
“Lot pairs” – what is that supposed to do?
The system of the “lot pairs” prevents a team from trying to qualify for a supposedly lighter side of the tournament tree.
The principle also leaves an organizational back door in the three European competitions if politically prohibited games are to be excluded. This applies, for example, to encounters between teams from Azerbaijan and Armenia or from Kosovo and Serbia.
The background of the reform
The new mode is part of the reform of the European Cup in the 2024/25 season. The UEFA wanted to counter the trend that many decisions had already been made in the groups before the last matchday. The new format brings excitement into the last matchday. But there are also teams in the new format, for which there is nothing more and play without any meaning like the game between Sturm Graz and RB Leipzig.