This Friday, we will find out who our opponents will be in the Champions League Round of 16
The play-off will begin on either 10 or 11 March at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano and it will conclude on 17 or 18 March on English soil.
This Friday, the House of European Football (Nyon, Switzerland) will host the last draw of the current edition of the Champions League, in which both the fixtures for the Round of 16, as well as for the subsequent knockout stages, will be decided.
One of these Round of 16 play-offs will feature Atlético up against either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur, with the first leg of the series taking place on 10 or 11 March at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, and the second leg taking place on 17 or 18 March in England.
Both Liverpool and Tottenham will play the second leg at home as they finished third and fourth respectively in the league phase. Assuming we beat either of these teams, we would be able to enjoy this home advantage in future knockout matches. However, this only applies if our next opponents finished the league phase in fifth place or lower, and do not inherit a first/second/third/fourth seeding through other play-offs.
These are the eight clubs that will be seeded in the Round of 16 draw (the top eight teams from the league phase, ordered according to their final position), which will allow them to play the second leg of the play-off at their respective home stadiums: 1. Arsenal (ENG), 2. Bayern Munich (GER), 3. Liverpool (ENG), 4. Tottenham (ENG), 5. FC Barcelona (ESP), 6. Chelsea (ENG), 7. Sporting CP (POR) and 8. Manchester City (ENG).
The winners of the knockout ties will complete the draw: 9. Real Madrid (ESP), 11. Paris Saint Germain (FRA), 12. Newcastle (ENG), 14. Atlético de Madrid (ESP), 15. Atalanta (ITA), 16. Bayer Leverkusen (GER), 20. Galatasaray (TUR) and 23. Bodø/Glimt (NOR).
The dates of the following knockout stages will be:
Quarter-finals: 7/8 and 14/15 April
Semi-finals: 28/29 April and 5/6 May
Final: 30 May (Budapest)
