When is the Champions League play-off draw and how does it work?

"Sixteen teams will discover who they will face in the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw on Friday. Proceedings start in Switzerland at 11:00 GMT and will involve the teams that finish between ninth and 24th in the table. The top eight sides in the league phase - including Arsenal and Bayern Munich - automatically qualify for the last 16 and will avoid a potential fixture pile-up in February. The first legs of the play-offs take place on either 17 or 18 February and the second legs are one week later."

"The process is all fairly simple. Clubs are paired together based on where they finish at the end of the league phase to form seeded and unseeded pairs. The teams that finish ninth to 16th are the seeded pairs, while 17th to 24th are unseeded pairs. The seeded pair is drawn against an unseeded pair. For example, 15th and 16th will face 17th and 18th. The seeded team will play the second leg at home."

"Once the eight winners of the play-offs have been determined they can progress to the last 16, where they will meet the top eight finishers from the league phase. From this point onward the competition adopts a knockout format, with each fixture other than the final contested over two legs. As with the play-offs, teams' final ranking in the league phase will influence seeding in the last 16, with seeded sides - those that finished in the top eight of the league - being given the advantage of playing their second fixture at home. This is the first season that the position in which teams have placed in the league phase will also influence seeding for the quarter-final and semi-finals."

Sixteen teams that finish 9th–24th will enter a Champions League knockout play-off draw, held in Switzerland at 11:00 GMT, to determine eight play-off ties. The top eight from the league phase automatically qualify for the last 16 and avoid February fixture congestion. Play-off first legs occur on 17 or 18 February, with second legs a week later. Clubs are paired into seeded (9th–16th) and unseeded (17th–24th) pairs; each seeded pair draws against an unseeded pair, and the seeded team hosts the second leg. Winners join the top eight in two-legged last-16 ties, with league placement influencing seeding through to quarter-finals and semi-finals.

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