When is Champions League draw? Date, start time, TV channel and live stream for knockout play-offs | OneFootball

Man City must win their final league-phase match to secure a place in the knockout stages

The league phase of the Champions League comes to an end this week, as clubs look to book their place in the knockout stages.

However, for the rest of the 36 clubs in the competition, the race is on to either secure a place in the top-eight, and therefore go straight through to the last-16, or finish in the top 24 and with it a spot in the knockout phase play-offs.

Manchester City must beat Club Brugge or they will fall to a stunning early exit, and it looks likely that Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG will all face an extra two-legged tie.

Arsenal will almost certainly finish in the top-eight, but Aston Villa know they have work to do in their final match against Celtic if they are to do likewise.

Liverpool are already safely through to the last-16

Liverpool FC via Getty Images

When is the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw?

The draw for the Champions League knockout phase play-offs will take place at 11am GMT on Friday January 31, 2025.

Where to watch Champions League knockout phase play-off draw

Live stream: The draw will be streamed live on the UEFA.com website on Friday.

LIVE coverage: You can follow the draw with Standard Sport’s dedicated live blog.

How does the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw work?

While the teams that finished in the top eight in the league phase go straight through to the last-16, those between ninth and 24th in the table face an extra play-off round.

Teams between ninth and 16th will be seeded and play their second leg at home, against the sides who finished the league phase in 17th to 24th.

There is also a pairing system in place. That means the ninth and 10th-placed teams will take on either the team that finished 23rd or 24th, with 11th and 12th up against the 21st or 22nd-placed side, and so on.

Clubs can face other teams from the same country, as well as sides that they played in the league phase.

When will the Champions League knockout phase play-offs take place?

The first legs will be played on either Tuesday February 11 or Wednesday February 12, with the reverse fixtures taking place a week later.

When is the Champions League last-16 draw

The top eight from the league phase of the competition will face the eight winners of the knockout play-off ties in the last-16.

The draw for the last-16 will take place on Friday February 21, 2025.

On paper at least, the higher you finish in the league phase, the easier your last-16 tie should be.

The teams finishing first or second will be handed a last-16 clash against the winners of the play-off tie between the 15th/16th and 17th/18th seeds.

Teams involved in Champions League knockout phase play-offs

Qualified for knockout stage, round to be confirmed:

Guaranteed place in last-16: