Champions League: Draw details, who we could face Feature News

Friday sees us learn our opponents in the last-16 of the Champions League, following the conclusion of the play-off round.

The draw will also plot out our potential route to the final in Munich, and who we could face in the subsequent rounds.

Here is everything you need to know:

When is the draw?

The draw will take place on Friday, February 21 at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyom, Switzerland. It will start at 11am UK time and streamed live on UEFA.com and their YouTube channel, and shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+.

Which teams have qualified?

The top eight teams from the league stage all enjoyed a bye to the last-16. Only Liverpool and Barcelona finished above us in the table, while we ended up in third spot. The only team to beat us in the league stage was Inter Milan, whom we finished level on points with.

Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen ended up in fifth and sixth spot, while Lille and Aston Villa snuck into the top eight on the final round of matches to also skip the play-off round.

Those matches have taken place over the past couple of weeks. Bayern Munich overcame Celtic 3-2 on aggregate, while Feyenoord eliminated AC Milan 2-1 over two legs. Benfica edged out Monaco 4-3 after a 3-3 draw in Portugal, while Club Brugge knocked out our matchday one opponents Atalanta 5-2.

It’s worth noting that there is no country protection in the knockout stages, leaving teams from the association free to face each other. That led to Paris Saint-Germain putting 10 goals against fellow countrymen Brest to advance, while 15-time winners Real Madrid ended Manchester City's hopes with a 6-3 aggregate success. PSV Eindhoven overturned a 2-1 first-leg deficit to beat Juventus 3-1 after extra-time, while Borussia Dortmund's 3-0 win at Sporting Lisbon set the platform for them to also qualify.

Who could we face in the last 16?

Following the conclusion of the league phase, all qualified teams were placed into a bracket to determine their possible opponents. As we finished third, we knew we would face the winners of the play-off between the teams who finished in 13th or 14th, or 19th or 20th.

The teams who finished in those positions were AC Milan (13th), PSV Eindhoven (14th), Feyenoord (19th) and Juventus (20th). Following the play-off round, we now know it will be between Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven.

How does the draw work?

The top eight clubs will be paired based on their final league position: 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, and so on, meaning will be paired with Inter Milan. We will be drawn into one of two spots in the bracket, now occupied by Feyenoord or PSV Eindhoven.

Four bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of each pair of seeded teams. The first selected will be placed in the top reserved spot on the bracket, with the second allocated to the corresponding reserved spot on the other side of the bracket.

Therefore whoever is drawn first between us and Inter Milan will face PSV next month, leaving the other to head to Rotterdam for what could be our first-ever encounter with Feyenoord.

How can we plot our path to the final?

Once all the teams have been allocated spots in the bracket, we will be able to see which two teams we could encounter in the quarter-finals, as well as who else could be potential semi-final opponents given they have been included in our side of the bracket.

What we do know heading into the draw though is that should we get past either of our potential Dutch opponents, we would face one of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.

What else will be decided at the draw?

As one of the seeded top-eight teams, we know that our last-16 clash will see the second leg played at Emirates Stadium. However, there will also be a draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals to decide which team will host the first leg.

When are the knockout rounds?

Last-16: March 4/5 & March 11/12Quarter-finals: April 8/9 & April 15/16Semi-finals: April 29/30 & May 6/7Final: May 31