When is the Champions League draw and play-off dates?

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The Football Faithful

·31 January 2025

When is the Champions League draw and play-off dates?

The draw for the Champions League’s play-off round takes place on Friday as the competition’s knockout stage gets underway.

Manchester City and Celtic are guaranteed tough ties in the next stage, after sealing their play-off positions in midweek.

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Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa can all sit comfortably for Friday’s draw, having secured automatic progress to the Round of 16 with a top-eight finish in the league phase. The teams who finished ninth to 24th in the 36-team table will now go head-to-head in play-off ties to join them.

The clubs between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the draw and play their second leg at home. A pairing system will also be used, meaning the teams who finished ninth and 10th will take on either the team that finished 23rd or 24th. 11th and 12th are up against 21st or 22nd, and so on.

Potential opponents ahead of Friday's draw 👀 #UCL
– Thursday, 30 January 2025

Celtic (21st) and Manchester City (22nd) therefore know they will face either Real Madrid (11th) or Bayern Munich (12th) in the playoffs.

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.