Arne Slot will find out Liverpool’s Champions League opponents later this week.
The Champions League last-16 line-up is starting to take shape following the qualification of four teams into the knockout rounds. Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt and Premier League side Newcastle United have all confirmed their progression.
This guarantees all six English top-flight clubs competing in this year’s competition will appear in the last-16, creating the prospect of domestic encounters in next month’s fixtures. Arne Slot’s Liverpool had already booked their places in the last-16 after finishing amongst the top eight of the Champions League league phase.
Under the revamped format – introduced last season – matchings are decided by league phase positions rather than a conventional random draw. Here, the Liverpool Echo examines the last-16 draw as it currently stands….
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Yet to be determined:
Chelsea will face Newcastle, PSG or Monaco. The Magpies have recorded just one triumph at Stamford Bridge since 2012, indicating they would require an impressive performance in the first leg to advance.
Furthermore, Eddie Howe’s team have already been beaten by Barcelona in the league phase of this campaign. Arsenal confront the challenging prospect of a last 16 tie with Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta, with the latter two clubs scheduled to meet in Italy tonight.
Tottenham are facing a similarly daunting situation, with their potential opponents including Atletico, Galatasaray or Juventus. Atletico secured their place in the last-16 after Tuesday’s victory over Club Brugge, whilst Galatasaray have a strong 5-2 lead ahead of Wednesday’s second leg against Juventus.
Liverpool, who share the same bracket as Spurs, have already been defeated by Galatasaray this season, and although they triumphed over Atletico during the league phase, the Spanish team previously knocked Liverpool out at this stage in the 2019/20 season.
All last-16 pairings will be finalised during Friday’s draw (11am UK time). This will include the quarter-finals and semi-final paths too.
