Champions League draw LIVE: Man City and Celtic face blockbusters with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich ties
The eight Champions League play-offs have been revealed, with a place in the last-16 in the tournament up for grabs
Manchester City will face Real Madrid in a blockbuster Champions League play-off tie, with Celtic taking on Bayern Munich for a place in the last-16.
Premier League champions City scraped through by beating Club Brugge and, as the 22nd seeds, knew they would face a true European heavyweight in the next round. Holders Madrid failed to finish in the top-eight as well, setting up a massive two-legged tie against City. Celtic, meanwhile, will be huge underdogs against German giants Bayern.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa are already through after claiming one of the top-eight spots in the inaugural league phase, but they will have to wait for next month’s last-16 draw for the knockout bracket to be fully set.
Liverpool finished top of the league standings and will face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco or Brest, while Arsenal know one of AC Milan, PSV Feyenoord or Juventus awaits them. Aston Villa, the eighth seeds, can prepare for one of Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting or Club Brugge.
In the other play-offs, PSG play Brest in an all-French tie, Monaco meet Benfica, Club Brugge take on Atalanta, Sporting entertain Dortmund, Feyenoord face Milan and Juventus challenge PSV.
This morning’s draw in Nyon will determine the play-offs and you can follow all the updates in the live blog below. The Europa League draw will follow at around 12pm GMT.
Champions League play-off draw
With the seeded top-eight teams added:
Play-off 1: Brest vs PSG to play Liverpool or Barcelona
Play-off 2: Club Brugge vs Atalanta to play Lille or Aston Villa
Play-off 3: Manchester City vs Real Madrid to play Atletico Madrid or Leverkusen
Play-off 4: Juventus vs PSV to play Arsenal or Inter Milan
Play-off 5: Feyenoord vs Milan to play Inter Milan or Arsenal
Play-off 6: Celtic vs Bayern Munich to play Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid
Play-off 7: Sporting vs Dortmund to play Aston Villa or Lille
Play-off 8: Monaco vs Benfica to play Barcelona or Liverpool
Champions League play-off dates
(all kick-off times 8pm GMT unless stated)
Tuesday 11 February
Brest vs PSG (5:45pm)
Juventus vs PSV
Manchester City vs Real Madrid
Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday 12 February
Club Brugge vs Atalanta (5:45pm)
Monaco vs Benfica
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Feyenoord vs AC Milan
Tuesday 18 February
AC Milan vs Feyenoord (5:45pm)
Atalanta vs Club Brugge
Bayern Munich vs Celtic
Benfica vs Monaco
Wednesday 19 February
Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting (5:45pm)
PSG vs Brest
PSV vs Juventus
Real Madrid vs Manchester City
Who Aston Villa could face in Champions League last-16 after play-off draw
Aston Villa have already enjoyed a memorable return to the European stage and now Unai Emery’s side have learned a little more about their fate in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The 1982 European champions marked their return to the continent’s top club competition by beating Bayern Munich at Villa Park, while there were impressive wins over Bologna and RB Leipzig too.
Defeats on the road to Club Brugge and Monaco suggests that Villa will have to improve when the knockout stages get underway, with some suggestions that Emery’s side have gone off the boil since the early stages of the season.
But Emery has an impressive knockout record in European football, even if the majority of his wins across two-legged ties during spells at Villarreal and Sevilla have come in the Europa League.
It means Villa are set to be one of the teams to watch after they managed to sneak into the top eight and advance directly to the last 16 by beating Celtic 4-2 in a Villa Park thriller on the final day of the group stage.
Who Aston Villa could face in Champions League after play-off draw
Who Arsenal could face Champions League last-16 after play-off draw
The picture for the last-16 of the Champions League has become clearer after the draw for the knockout play-off round.
Arsenal did not always enjoy the easiest of Champions League campaigns but Mikel Arteta’s side safely made it through to the last-16 as one of the top eight seeds.
The Gunners required heroics from David Raya to earn a 0-0 draw in Atalanta before slipping to a 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan in the San Siro early on in the league phase.
But Arsenal’s excellent home form - with wins over Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco and Dinamo Zagreb, to an aggregate score of 12-0 - ensured their safe passage to the last 16.
Who Arsenal could face in Champions League last-16 after play-off draw
Who Liverpool could face in Champions League last-16 after play-off draw
Liverpool have now learned a little more about their fate in the Champions League last-16.
The Reds romped to the top of the standings in what was a memorable inaugural league phase for the six-time European champions.
Slot’s side managed to replicate their domestic form and secured statement wins over Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.
Liverpool also defeated Bologna, RB Leipzig, Girona and Lille to comfortably wrap up qualification before slipping to defeat to PSV with a much-changed team on the final day.
Who Liverpool could face in Champions League last-16 after play-off draw
Pep Guardiola on facing Champions League 'kings'
Pep Guardiola has called Real Madrid the “kings” of Europe as he prepares to face the 15-time champions for the fourth season in a row.
After City beat Club Brugge to reach the play-off rounds, Guardiola admitted his team would not win the Champions League on current form.
“Not right now. I’m so pragmatic, the reality is the reality,” he said. “They have more experience than us, Real have maybe struggled, but they are back in the last games they play.
“If we play tomorrow, it will be difficult but in two weeks we’ll see. We’re going to try it and see what happens.
“I don’t know if they are happy to play us, but it is what it is. No complaints at all. Bayern or Madrid - one is the king of the competition; the other is the second or third king of the competition.”
Man City vs Real Madrid 'like a derby'
Pep Guardiola reacts to facing Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti in the Champions League play-offs.
"It feels like a derby already. Four years in a row facing Real Madrid. But Bayern or Madrid - both was really tough. Hopefully we can arrive in first leg here, and then at Madrid, as best as possible."
Manchester City's next seven games
A brutal run of games coming up for Manchester City (hello Leyton Orient), with the exact dates of their play-off against Real Madrid still to be determined.
2 Feb: vs Arsenal (away) - PL
8 Feb: vs Leyton Orient (away) - FA
11/12 Feb: vs Real Madrid (away)- CL
15 Feb: vs Newcastle (home) - PL
18/19 Feb: vs Real Madrid (home) - CL
23 Feb: vs Liverpool (home) - PL
26 Feb: vs Tottenham (away) - PL
When is the next Champions League draw?
The full play-off bracket will be set when the next Champions League draw is conducted on Friday 21 February, which is a couple of days after the second leg of the play-off rounds. Mark that in your diaries.
Europa League draw up next
We’ll have more Champions League draw reaction to come, with the fixtures for the play-offs still to be confirmed.
For now, I’m hopping over to the Europa League play-off draw, which gets underway very soon!
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