Champions League 2024-25: How do the knockouts work and which PL teams are at risk? | OneFootball

The league phase of the 2024-25 Champions League is drawing to a close and fans are starting to look ahead to the knockouts.

Of course, this is a completely new experience for Champions League fans with the removal of the eight-group stage for the new season. So, qualification permutations aren’t as straightforward as they used to be.

So we’ve wrapped up everything you need to know about the knockout stages, and picked out the Premier League sides at risk of failing to qualify as we head towards the final matches.

How does Champions League knockout stage qualification work?

Rather than being split into eight groups of four as it used to be, the Champions League league phase as one table with all 36 teams involved. Of those 36 teams, 24 will advance to the knockout stages — but not all to the same stage.

The easiest thing to learn, then, is that the bottom 12 teams in the table will be knocked out of the Champions League. One of the changes that may have gone under the radar with the new format is that there is no second chance. If you fail to qualify for the knockout stages, there will be no opportunity to drop down to the Europa League. And after six games, three teams have already been eliminated.

Now onto the teams who do actually qualify. A bit like the Europa League and Europa Conference League used to do, there is automatic qualification to the last 16 and a play-offs phase. The top eight sides in the final league table will automatically qualify for the last 16. This means they can watch on and rest while the remaining teams fight for their places in the last 16.

Teams finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs for a chance to play in the last 16. But that’s also where things can get a bit complicated.

The 16 teams in the knockout phase play-offs will be split based on their positions. Teams from ninth to 16th are seeded, while 17th to 24th are unseeded. As we are used to, a seeded team will face an unseeded team for a spot in the last 16.

There are few interesting things to note in the tie-breakers too, if more than one team finish level on points. Goal difference and goals scored are the first two, very straightforward. Then it’s away goals scored, wins and away wins in that order. And then things get technical.

The sixth tie-breaker, if needed, will be a calculation of the number of points obtained collectively by league phase opponents. For example, if Liverpool and Barcelona finished on the same points, you’d calculate the total points of all Liverpool’s league phase opponents and compare it to the total points of all the teams Barcelona have faced.

If that doesn’t separate sides, the same calculation is then brought in for: collective goal difference of league phase opponents; and higher number of goals scored collectively by league phase opponents.

Should two teams still be level after that, disciplinary record comes into play and finally Uefa club coefficient.

How the 2024-25 Champions League knockout stage draws work

Where teams finish in the league phase will be pretty important for their potential runs to the final. While there are draws for the knockout phase play-offs and last 16, it is very restricted.

For the knockout phase play-offs, teams in certain positions are paired up for potential opponents. A draw then determine what the ties will be from a very restricted group. The matchups for the knockout phase play-offs are below:

League finish also matters for the eight teams going straight through to the last 16. Again, there is a bracket which will need a minimal draw once the knockout round play-offs are done. Each team to automatically qualify for the last 16 will know their four potential opponents as soon as the league phase is done.

The bracket for the last 16 is below:

Once the last 16 is complete, there will be no more draws with a set bracket for the remainder of the season.

Which Premier League clubs are at risk?

There are four Premier League teams in the Champions League league phase, with Liverpool leading the way at the top of the table. The Reds have secured direct passage to the last 16 with one game to spare, and are now fighting to finish top. Arsenal and Aston Villa will join Liverpool in the knockout stages, but they both still have a bit of work to do if they want to gain direct passage to the last 16. The Gunners currently sit top of a group of seven teams on 13 points, spanning from fifth to 11th. But they have a game in hand. Aston Villa are also in that group, but lost their seventh game and are holding onto eighth by a thread. Goal difference currently ranks the teams, but the real tie-breakers will come into play once all games are done.

And then there’s Manchester City. After six games, the 2022-23 Champions League winners are down in 24th, ahead of 25th-placed Dinamo Zagreb on goal difference. They face 26th-placed Paris Saint-Germain in matchweek seven. Defeat for Man City could see them drop into one of the bottom eight places, at real risk of elimination all together. Alongside PSG, Real Madrid are another big name in danger, with the defending European champions currently 22nd, one point clear of elimination after six games.