Only eight teams will secure qualification for the Champions League round of 16 tonight, while another 16 sides will first have to go through the new knockout round play-offs
The excitement is ramping up ahead of the new-look Champions League’s first ever knockout round play-offs.
By the end of tonight’s matches, the teams that finish in the top eight slots in the Champions League league-phase table automatically go through to the last-16, after which the format will be the same as in previous years.
Crucially, those clubs will be joined by the eight winners of the upcoming play-off matches. The play-off round consists of eight two-legged ties between the sides that finished between ninth and 24th in the initial league phase, with eight of those teams being knocked out of the competition.
Mirror Football now brings you everything you need to know ahead of the draw for the revamped Champions League’s newly-formed round.
When is the draw?
The draw for the Champions League play-offs will take place in Switzerland on Friday, January 31, 2025. It will begin at 11am GMT.
How to watch the draw?
The draw will be streamed live on the UEFA.com website.
How does the draw work?
The teams that finished between ninth and 16th in the league standings will be seeded for the play-off draw. They will each be drawn against an unseeded team that finished between 17th and 24th in the table. The seeded team will, in principle, hold the slight advantage of playing the second leg at home.
Teams will also be paired together in the draw, meaning the two teams who finished ninth and 10th will be drawn against either the 23rd or 24th placed sides; the teams who finished 11th and 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides, and so on. The procedure is repeated for the remaining pairings.
A team can face another side from the same national association in the knockout phase play-offs. Clubs can also face opponents they met during the league phase.
When does the knockout round take place?
The Champions League knockout phase play-offs will take place over two weeks. The first legs will be played on February 11-12, while the second leg reverse fixtures will be played between February 18-19.
When do top eight teams come back into the Champions League?
The eight winners from the play-offs will meet the top eight from the league phase in the last-16, where straight knockout rounds will run all the way to the final.
The draw for the last-16 and subsequent rounds will take place on 21 February 2025, after the play-offs have concluded. The actual round of 16 ties will be played on March 4/5 and March 11/12.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
