Who Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa Could Face in the Champions League Round of 16
by by Isaac Darko · YEN.com.gh News · Join- The possible opponents for the Premier League clubs in the Champions League round of 16 have been confirmed
- Liverpool finished top of the new Champions League league phase despite losing 3-2 to PSV, their first fat in this season's competition
- Meanwhile, Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa recorded victories in their respective games and have qualified for the next stage
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The potential Champions League round of 16 opponents for Premier League clubs have been confirmed following the conclusion of the league phase on Wednesday night.
All 36 teams were in action across Europe as they battled to secure a spot in the top 24 and keep their Champions League dreams alive.
Source: Getty Images
Liverpool and Barcelona had already secured top-two finishes, while Manchester City needed a crucial win over Club Brugge to progress.
After a dramatic night of football, all four English clubs advanced to the knockout stages.
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Who the Premier League clubs could face
Arsenal and Aston Villa joined Liverpool in qualifying directly for the last 16 after securing victories over Girona and Celtic, respectively.
Per Sports Illustrated, Liverpool will face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, AS Monaco, or Brest in the round of 16.
Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, will take on either AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, or Juventus.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s potential opponents include Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Club Brugge, or Sporting CP.
Who will Man City face?
YEN.om.gh reported that after finishing 22nd, Manchester City will face a tough test against either Real Madrid (11th) or Bayern Munich (12th) in the knockout play-off. Celtic, who finished 21st, will also take on one of these European giants in their bid to reach the last 16.
With the draw set to take place soon, all four English clubs will be eagerly anticipating their next challenge in Europe’s elite competition.
How does the draw work?
UEFA's knockout phase play-off draw will take place on Friday, January 31, at 12:00 CET in Nyon, Switzerland, per Eurosport.
Eight bowls will be used, pairing seeded and unseeded teams based on league phase rankings.
The draw starts with unseeded teams, placing them into pre-determined bracket positions before moving on to the seeded sides.
The first team drawn from this bowl is placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other unseeded team of the pairing is then drawn and displayed, and allocated in the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket.
The same procedure is carried out with the remaining unseeded clubs.
9 teams eliminated from UCL ahead of final matchday
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the revamped Champions League format has seen nine teams mathematically eliminated from the competition with one game still to play in the league phase.
The new structure, which replaced the traditional group stage with a 36-team league, has significantly changed qualification.
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Source: YEN.com.gh