Champions League draw in full – what it means for Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City ...Middle East

Manchester City will face Real Madrid for a place in the Champions League round of 16.

Both City and Real were among the heavyweights who fell short in the league phase of this new-look competition, finishing outside of the top eight as Aston Villa joined Arsenal and Liverpool in directly progressing to the last 16.

City’s shock 22nd-place finish – they only scraped through on Wednesday after an early scare against Club Brugge – also meant they were not seeded for this knockout play-off round, their final standing handing Pep Guardiola’s side the prospect of either Real or Bayern Munich.

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Friday’s Champions League draw ultimately landed 2023 winners City against Real, while Scottish champions Celtic are set to face Bayern in the play-offs.

The first legs of the knockout play-off round take place on 11-12 February, with the return legs a week later. The last 16 then begins in early March, when Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa return to European action.

Champions League knockout play-off draw in full

In bypassing the play-off round, Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa are among the top eight clubs who benefit from playing two fewer matches in the Champions League – getting February off European football as a result.

What those three Premier League clubs do know is that there are four possible opponents they could face in the last 16.

As it stands, Arsenal will play Feyenoord, Juventus, AC Milan or PSV in the Champions League round of 16, while Liverpool will face Monaco, Brest, PSG or Benfica, and for Aston Villa it is Club Brugge, Sporting, Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta.

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And despite Friday’s draw determining the fixtures of the play-off round, Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa’s options are yet to be narrowed down.

This is to maintain some level of suspense. Only once the play-off round is complete will their list of potential opponents drop to two teams, with the last-16 draw on 21 February – two days after the play-off round finishes – being the date those three clubs will discover their fate.

From there, the path to the final in Munich will be much clearer given the 21 February draw will also dictate the quarter-final and semi-final match-ups.

What the current Champions League knockout bracket shows is that Arsenal could meet Celtic or Manchester City in the quarter-finals, while Villa could play Liverpool at the same stage.

However, Liverpool and Villa cannot face either Arsenal or City until the semi-finals at the earliest.

There is also the chance these Premier League clubs cannot face a domestic rival until the final, should they be placed in the other half of the draw come 21 February.

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