Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and co learn potential Champions League last-16 opponents | OneFootball

With five of England’s six Champions League teams marching straight into the last-16 after securing top-eight finishes in the league phase on Wednesday night we now know which four teams potentially await each of them in that round.

Newcastle must get through the play-offs after finishing 12th, but we also know which two teams they could face there and which two teams they could face in the last 16 should they make it, while the efforts of all England’s teams mean it’s almost certain there will once again be (at least) five English teams in next season’s Champions League.

As with last year, the draw for the play-off and knockout rounds for the European competitions will be bracketed and partially seeded based on finishing positions.

The eight automatic qualifiers for the last 16 are paired with the team next to them in the table and will automatically be placed on opposite sides of the draw. This means, for instance, that – as with Spurs and Man United in last year’s Europa League – it is impossible for Liverpool and Spurs to meet before the final after they finished third and fourth to be paired together.

Chelsea (6th) are paired with fifth-placed Barcelona, table-toppers Arsenal with second-placed Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, who claimed the eighth and last automatic spot after falling in the play-offs last year, paired with Sporting after their seventh-place finish.

Each of those pairs then has two pairs of potential opponents from the play-off rounds, again based on finishing positions.

Those possible opponents are as follows…

Arsenal possible Champions League last 16 opponents

Borussia Dortmund, Olympiacos, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen

Liverpool possible Champions League last 16 opponents

Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Juventus, Atletico Madrid

Tottenham possible Champions League last 16 opponents

Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Juventus, Atletico Madrid

Chelsea possible Champions League last 16 opponents

Qarabag, Monaco, Newcastle, PSG

Manchester City possible Champions League last 16 opponents

Bodo/Glimt, Benfica, Real Madrid, Inter Milan

Things are slightly different for Newcastle, the only English team forced down the play-off route. We can narrow their possible opponents in that to two based on seeding pairs, with two possible last-16 opponents should they make it through.

Newcastle possible Champions League play-off opponents

Qarabag, Monaco

Newcastle possible Champions League last 16 opponents

Chelsea, Barcelona

For both Chelsea and Newcastle, there also therefore exists the highly unusual possibility of playing a fellow English team in every knockout round.

They could face each other in the last 16 should Newcastle make it, then  either Liverpool or Tottenham in the quarter-final, and then Arsenal and Manchester City in either order in the semi-final and final if those two have themselves landed on opposite sides of the draw. Arsenal v Manchester City is a potential quarter-final if they end up on the same side of the draw as each other.

The draw for the play-off round takes place in Nyon on Friday, with the final draw to set the complete knockout bracket for the last 16 onwards taking place on February 27.

Europa League: Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest

England’s two Europa League teams will complete their Europa League league phase campaigns tonight, after which we’ll have a clearer idea of their next steps. But we do know Villa will go straight to the last 16, and that Forest will almost certainly be in the play-offs; they can finish no lower than 24th but still have a tiny mathematical chance of nicking eighth.

The draw for the play-off round takes place in Nyon on Friday, with the final draw to set the complete knockout bracket for the last 16 onwards taking place on February 27.

Europa Conference League: Crystal Palace

Palace will face Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar in the play-offs after finishing 10th in the league phase. Unlike the Champions and Europa Leagues, the Conference features only six league-phase games, which are wrapped up before Christmas.

Should they get through that, they will play either Mainz or AEK Larnaca in the last 16. The draw to set the complete bracket for the last 16 onwards will take place in Nyon on February 27.