The Champions League group stages are over and we've got a much better idea of who will play who in the knockout stages.

Who will the English sides and Celtic face?

Pep Guardiola faces a potential return to Bayern Munich in the play-offs after Manchester City beat Club Brugge to continue their Champions League campaign.

But they will face a tough test to reach the last 16 with Guardiola's side and Celtic facing either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid for a chance to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen after that.

Champions League knockouts draw today: Who could play who?	Champions League knock-outs: Who could play who in play-offs and last 16?	Man City to face Real Madrid in CL play-offs as Celtic draw Bayern

Aston Villa snuck into the top eight by the skin of their teeth after Atalanta failed to beat Barcelona and dropped into the play-offs, meaning Unai Emery's side will face one of Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting or Club Brugge in the last 16.

Arsenal and Liverpool already knew their automatic progression was secured.

Liverpool top the overall table and will now face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco or Brest, while the Gunners could face one of two Serie A giants with AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus their possible opponents.

Champions League knockout scheduleJanuary 31: Play-off round draw?

Who will British teams play in the next round - and who could they face in the last 16?Liverpool (Ranked No 1)

Round of 16: vs PSG (15th), Benfica (16th), Monaco (17th) or Brest (18th).

Arsenal (Ranked No 3)

Round of 16: vs AC Milan (13th), PSV (14th), Feyenoord (19th) or Juventus (20th).

Also See:Aston Villa (Ranked No 8)

Round of 16: vs Atalanta (9th), Borussia Dortmund (10th), Sporting (23rd) or Club Brugge (24th).

Celtic (Ranked No 21)

Knockout playoffs: vs Bayern Munich (11th) or Real Madrid (12th).

Round of 16: vs Atletico Madrid (5th) or Bayer Leverkusen (6th).

Manchester City (Ranked No 22)

Knockout playoffs: vs Bayern Munich (11th) or Real Madrid (12th).

Round of 16: vs Atletico Madrid (5th) or Bayer Leverkusen (6th).

Why there could be two all-British quarter-finals…

We won't know the exact format of the tournament beyond the play-offs until February, when the last-16 draw is held.

But, there is a chance there could be two all-British quarter-finals.

After finishing first and eighth, should Liverpool and Aston Villa win their last-16 games they may well end up facing one another in the last eight.

Likewise one of Celtic and Manchester City, who will set up a potential quarter-final with Arsenal if they win their play-offs and then beat Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.

Who are all the teams through to the next round?

Confirmed in round of 16

Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, Aston Villa.

Confirmed in knockout phase play-offs

Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSV, PSG, Benfica, Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Juventus, Celtic, Man City, Sporting, Club Brugge.

Eliminated

Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bologna, Crvena Zvezda, Sturm Graz, Sparta Prague, RB Leipzig, Girona, RB Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava, Young Boys.

Why does finishing higher in the Champions League league table matter

Overall, there are two paths to the knockout phase from the league phase:

Finish in the top eight and go straight through to the round of 16Finish from ninth to 24th and go through to a two-legged knockout play-off

Teams who finish from 25th-36th are eliminated and unlike previous seasons, no team will drop into the Europa League.

But within those paths, the higher a team finishes within each of the groups that qualify, the better their route to the latter stages of the tournament will be.

For example:

If a team finishes first or second, they will skip the knockout play-offs and play one of the winners of the matches between the 17th/18th and 15th/16th seeds in the round of 16.

If a team finishes seventh or eighth, they will skip the knockout play-offs and play one of the winners of the matches between the ninth/10th and 23rd/24th seeds in the round of 16.

If a team finishes 15th or 16th, they will play either the 17th or 18th seed in the knockout play-offs, followed by the first or second seed in the round of 16.

If a team finishes 21st or 22nd, they will play either the 11th or 12th seed in the knockout play-offs, followed by the fifth or sixth seed in the round of 16.

Essentially, the higher a team places, the better chance they have of avoiding another higher seed early in the knockout phase.



Play for free!


For more news relating to Celtic, visit our sister site Celtic Latest Live.