Who Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa Could Face in the Champions League Round of 16

Who Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa Could Face in the Champions League Round of 16

  • 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.

Who Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa could face in the Champions League round of 16
The possible opponents for the Premier League clubs in the Champions League round of 16 have been confirmed. Photos: MB Media/Carl Recine.
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.

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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.

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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

Authors:
Isaac Darko avatar

Isaac Darko (Sports Editor) Isaac Darko is a Sports Editor at Yen, boasting over 10 years of experience in the media industry. He has produced award-winning TV shows such as "Football 360" and "Sports XTRA" on ViaSat 1/Kwese TV. Isaac began his career as an Assistant Producer at TV3 Ghana Limited (Media General) and also contributed as a Writer and Weekend Editor for Pulse Ghana. He earned his bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism (now University of Media, Arts and Communication). Email: isaac.darko@sportsbrief.com.

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