What will be drawn in the round of 16

What will be drawn in the round of 16
The current Champions League table has already been reviewed on more than one occasion, but it may change greatly after what happens on Friday. The eight clubs that made it through the play-offs (PSG, Brugge, Real Madrid, PSV, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund">Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Feyenoord) have been drawn into a bracket from which they know the two possible opponents they will face in the round of 16 according to their previous ranking in the league phase. For example, the Parisians will face Liverpool or Barça. For Ancelotti's side, Atletico or Bayer Leverkusen. They also know what would be their potential match in the quarterfinals. PSG is linked with Brugge and Lille or Aston Villa; Madrid, in their case, with PSV and Arsenal or Inter. This is important to underline: none of this is going to change in this draw. The first thing that will be known is which teams will cross paths in the round of 16. That is, which side Liverpool and Barca, Lille and Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal and Inter Milan will go to. All these pairs will each go to one side, so they will not be able to cross paths until a hypothetical final. For this first part of the process, there will be four pots with the seeded pairs, starting with the 7th-8th pair (Lille and Aston Villa) and ending with the 1st-2nd (Liverpool and Barça), determining one side of the draw for each one and, with that, the opponent of each one in the round of 16. And here, too, a certainty: all seeded teams (from 1st to 8th in the League Phase) will have the second leg at home in this first knockout round. It is worth noting this: only in the round of 16.
Nyon dresses up one more day to live one of the great moments for UEFA. On Friday, a triple draw will be held that will leave the complete draw for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference after the play-off matches have already been played, once the new League Phase, which has burst with force in its first edition, has been left behind. In the case of the Champions League, it is also looking for pairings for the round of 16, where the 8 teams qualified directly in the overall standings.

As this Friday will define the complete draw until the final, there was something pending: to know which teams can play the second leg at home in the quarterfinals and semifinals. As we have already mentioned, the top seeds are only assured that privilege for the round of 16, but it will be a draw that will determine which team will play at home in the quarterfinals and semifinals. It will also be drawn at the event in Nyon.
For this part of the process, there will be four pots: two for the left side and two for the right side. And each pot will have two balls that will represent the winners of the round of 16 of each key. Thus, the draw will be made for the home leg of the second leg in the quarterfinals. And the same procedure will be repeated to find out the path to the semifinals. Not so for the final, whose home team will be drawn from the winner of the left side.
- Round of 16: 4/5 and 11/12 March - Quarterfinals: 8/9 and 15/16 April - Semifinals: April 29/30 and May 6/7 - Final: May 31 (Munich)