Champions League draw LIVE: Man City and Celtic to learn knockout play-off round fate

Evening Standard

·31 January 2025

Champions League draw LIVE: Man City and Celtic to learn knockout play-off round fate

Either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich await for a spot in the last 16

OneFootball Videos

The draw for the Champions League knockout phase play-offs takes centre stage at Uefa headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday. The teams that finished ninth to 24th in the inaugural league phase of the revamped competition are those involved in proceedings this morning, with all still harbouring hopes of reaching the last 16. The sides that ended ninth to 16th are seeded for the draw, with the rest unseeded as the bracket begins.

The pairings of those final league positions mean that clubs already know which two opponents they could face in the play-offs. For Manchester City, who fought back to beat Club Brugge 3-1 at home on Wednesday night to avoid an embarrassing early elimination from Europe altogether, a blockbuster two-legged tie against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich now awaits, with Celtic also in line to face one of those two giants.

Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund are among the other heavyweights involved at this stage of the competition, with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona and Aston Villa all earning direct passage into the last 16. Follow the Champions League play-off draw live below!