With the league phase now complete, the Champions League moves into its final knockout stage. Out of the 36 initial participants, eight teams have secured their direct passage to the Round of 16. Notably, FC Barcelona is among them, having finished the league phase in fifth place with 16 points.
The pairings are conditioned by the position in which each team finishes the league phase, and each contender has two potential opponents.
The remaining 16 teams, which finished between 9th and 24th place, will compete in a two-legged play-off round for the final spots. This group includes both Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, who were defeated on the final matchday by Benfica and Bodo/Glimt, respectively.
The play-off draw will take place on January 30 at 12:00 PM (CET). Teams are divided into two pots: seeded (9th to 16th) and unseeded (17th to 24th). Seeded teams will play the first leg away (February 17 and 18) and the return leg at home (February 24 and 25).
