When is Champions League last-16 draw and how does it work?

The road to the 2025-26 Champions League final in Budapest’s Puskas Arena takes its next decisive step on Friday when the last-16 draw is staged at 11:00 GMT. Sixteen clubs will learn their immediate fate, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur already assured of their places, while Newcastle United stand one foot in the knockout phase after a commanding 6-1 play-off first-leg victory over Qarabag.

Format and seeding The draw will pair the eight winners of this week’s two-legged play-offs with the eight highest-placed finishers from the league phase. From that point the competition becomes a straight knockout, each tie—apart from the final—contested home and away. Seeding is determined by league-phase finishing positions: the top-eight sides are seeded for the round of 16 and will play the second leg at home. Should a seeded team fall, the club that eliminates it inherits that seeding for subsequent rounds.

Bracket clarity UEFA will also slot every team into one half of the bracket on Friday, meaning clubs will know the potential quarter-final, semi-final and final opponents blocking their path. League-phase rankings will continue to shape home advantage: sides finishing first to fourth are seeded for the quarter-finals, while the top two are guaranteed a second-leg at home in the semi-finals should they advance that far.

Tie dates First legs of the last 16 are scheduled for 10 or 11 March, with the return fixtures on 17-18 March.

Who can face whom? With no country protection and previous group-stage meetings irrelevant, several heavyweight collisions are already possible. Top seeds Arsenal will be drawn against one of Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta. Liverpool and Tottenham, who placed third and fourth in the league phase, will meet one of Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus. Manchester City await either Bodo/Glimt, Inter Milan, Real Madrid or Benfica, while Chelsea will tackle Qarabag, Newcastle, Monaco or Paris St-Germain. Should Newcastle complete their play-off job, they would face either Chelsea or Barcelona.

Squad updates January recruits are eligible for the knockout phase provided they were registered on the Champions League ‘A list’ before the play-off deadline. Manchester City can therefore field Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo, Tottenham can deploy Conor Gallagher, and Chelsea are able to use recalled loanee Mamadou Sarr.

The draw, streamed live from UEFA headquarters, sets the narrative for the spring phase of Europe’s premier club competition and edges 16 contenders closer to the showpiece final in Hungary on 30 May.