Yahoo Sports Champions League draw: How it works, Date, Time, Teams and Where to Watch
The draw for the knockout rounds of the Champions League is coming up on Friday in a newly-formatted layout for the 2024-25 season. Here is everything you need to know about the play-off round, the knockout draw, the competing teams and how to follow the action as it unfolds.
When is the Champions League draw?
The draw for the play-off and knock-out rounds of the 2024-25 Champions League will take place on Friday, January 31, and will begin at 11.00 GMT (12.00 CET).
Where to watch the Champions League draw
The draw will be broadcast live on the UEFA website. You can also join us on the Football Italia Liveblog for all the latest updates, news and reactions for all the competing Italian sides.
How does the draw work and who is involved?
24 teams will be involved across the play-off and knock-out rounds. The teams who finish the league phase in positions one down to eight will qualify directly for the Round of 16. Their places in the bracket will be pre-determined based on their league phase finishes.
The 16 teams who finish the league phase in ninth down to 24th will be entered into the play-off draw.
The teams who finish the league phase in ninth down to 16th will be the seeded teams in the draw, while the teams who finish from 17th down to 24th will be unseeded.
Potential opponents in the play-off draw are also pre-determined based on the league phase standings: Ie. teams who finish in ninth or tenth will face one of the teams who finished in 23rd or 24th. The teams who finished in 11th and 12th will face the teams who finished in 21st and 22nd and so on.
That means that by the end of the final league phase fixtures on Wednesday night, every team involved will have two potential opponents for the play-off draw.
Click here to read the latest update on the Champions League league phase standings.
