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Monday 16 December 2013

When is the Champions League draw for the knockout stages?

When is the Champions League draw for the knockout stages?
The 16 remaining teams will learn their fate in Nyon on Monday, so Goal is giving you the run-down on what to expect from what promises to be an intriguing event
WHEN IS THE DRAW?

With the Champions League group stage having come to an end on Wednesday, the focus of the football world will now turn towards Monday's draw for the knockout stages, with coaches desperate to find out whom they will face in the round of 16.

The highly-anticipated event will take place in Nyon, Switzerland and is scheduled to start at 12:00 CET, with Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino in charge of proceedings.

WHEN ARE THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KNOCKOUT STAGES?

From the last 16 until the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis under the same rules as the qualifying and play-off rounds.

The first legs of the round of 16 will be played on February 18, 19, 25 and 26, with the second legs scheduled for March 11, 12, 18 and 19.

The quarter-finals will then take place on April 1 and 2, and April 8 and 9, while the semi-finals will be held on April 22 and 23, with the return fixtures to be played on April 29 and 30.

The final is decided by a single match, which will be played at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Saturday, May 24, 2014.

WHICH TEAMS HAVE QUALIFIED?


The eight teams that topped their respective sections in the group stage (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona) are seeded, with the eight runners-up unseeded.

The runners-up are drawn first and play the first-leg matches at home. They cannot be paired with either the winners from their section or clubs from the same association.

GROUP WINNERSRUNNERS-UP
 Manchester United Bayer Leverkusen
 Real Madrid Galatasaray
 Paris Saint-Germain Olympiakos
 Bayern Munich Manchester City
 Chelsea Schalke
 Borussia Dortmund Arsenal
 Atletico Madrid Zenit St Petersburg
 Barcelona AC Milan

The make-up of the pots, as shown above, and the aforementioned rules mean that Bayern Munich could meet Arsenal once more, while Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund could also meet familiar opposition in Manchester City.

Other high-profile ties would be Premier League champions Manchester United against AC Milan or another encounter between Barcelona and Arsenal.

On the other hand, dark horses Atletico Madrid could be paired with one of Galatasaray or Olympiakos in what would be a rather favourable draw for the Liga outfit.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Although the Champions League will have to make do without stars such as Douglas Costa, Antoine Griezmann, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Oscar Cardozo, Mohamed Salah, Gonzalo Higuain, Jackson Martinez and Viktor Fischer, there will still be plenty of stellar names in the last 16.

All three remaining candidates for the Fifa Ballon d'Or - Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) - will be present.

Additionally, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney will be there for Manchester United, Real Madrid have Gareth Bale and Isco in their squad, Galatasaray boast Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder, Paris Saint-Germain have Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva to offer, while Olympiakos will be looking to in-form forward Kostas Mitroglou to guide them to success.

Not convinced just yet? How about Arjen Robben (Bayern), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Eden Hazard and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Julian Draxler (Schalke), Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), Neymar and Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), and Mario Balotelli and Kaka (AC Milan)? The list goes on and on!

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