The ‘league phase’ of the Champions League concluded on Wednesday after all 18 matches kicked off at the same time. Now, the standings of the UCL ‘league phase’ is set in stone following Wednesday’s “Matchday Mayhem,” and fans can now look forward to the business end of the tournament – the knockout rounds.
However, many fans are left confused by the new format. So, if you fall into the same category, don’t worry because we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about the Champions League playoffs.
Under the “Swiss Model” of the Champions League, clubs who have finished in the top-eight will not participate in the two-legged playoffs. Instead, they will qualify directly to the Round of 16. With the ‘league phase’ now wrapped up, eight clubs have already punched their tickets straight into the Champions League Round of 16. Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Aston Villa have all secured their places, avoiding the added stress of a playoff. But for 16 other teams, the journey isn’t that simple.
These sides will now battle it out in a two-legged playoff to claim one of the remaining eight spots in the knockout rounds. The teams finishing 9th to 16th in the league phase have been classified as ‘seeded,’ while those landing in 17th to 24th are ‘unseeded.’ And here’s where the advantage kicks in—seeded teams get to play the decisive second leg on home turf, giving them that extra edge when it matters most.
Atalanta/Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting/Club Brugge
Real Madrid/Bayern Munich vs Celtic/Manchester City
AC Milan/PSV Eindhoven vs Feyenoord/Juventus
Paris Saint-Germain/Benfica vs Monaco/Brest
Eight designated bowls hold the names of both seeded and unseeded teams, placed in pairs according to their league phase rankings. These pairings determine which teams could potentially face off in the upcoming two-legged tie.
The draw kicks off with the unseeded teams. One team from each pairing is drawn first and assigned a specific pre-determined spot in the bracket, starting with the lowest-ranked pairing (teams placed 23rd and 24th) and working up to those ranked 17th and 18th. The first team drawn is placed in its reserved slot on the silver side of the bracket, while its paired team automatically moves to the blue side.
Once all unseeded teams have been placed, the focus shifts to the seeded sides, following the same pattern but in reverse order. The process begins with the teams ranked 15th and 16th and continues until it reaches the highest-ranked pairing of 9th and 10th, completing the lineup for the knockout round play-offs.
The much-anticipated Champions League knockout round play-off draw will be streamed LIVE on UEFA.com. The is scheduled to take place on 31st January at 4:30 PM IST from the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. For fans in India, you can catch the draw live on Sony LIV as well.
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