Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa's route to the Champions League final has become clearer after the final 16 was confirmed on Wednesday night.
After Feyenoord, Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica all progressed on aggregate on Tuesday night, the very first set of Champions League knockout phase play-offs were concluded with Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting CP, Paris Saint-Germain vs Brest, Real Madrid vs Manchester City and PSV Eindhoven vs Juventus.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, Lille and Liverpool all qualified automatically for the round of 16 after finishing in the top eight.
The aforementioned three English sides have been able to sit back and relax ever since the final matchday and will have all eyes on Friday's draw, which takes place at 11am in Nyon, Switzerland.
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But the draw is not a random one as the final league standings have developed a new ‘seeding’ system and essentially mapped out each team's possible route to the final - with potential quarter-final and semi-final draws also due to take place.
Liverpool and Barcelona cannot meet until the final in Munich after finishing in the top two because teams who qualified have been placed in four seeded pairs.
The same goes for Arsenal and Inter Milan in 3rd and 4th, Atletico and Bayer Leverkusen in 5th and 6th and Lille and Aston Villa in 7th and 8th.
Liverpool's potential route:
In the round of 16, Champions League table toppers Liverpool will either be drawn against PSG or Benfica.
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In the quarter-final, depending on which side of the bracket they end up on, the Reds could face Club Brugge, Lille or Aston Villa - or Borussia Dortmund.
Again it depends on the bracket but possible semi-final opponents include Real Madrid, PSV, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Feyenoord.
Arsenal's potential route:
In the round of 16, Arsenal will come up against PSV or Feyenoord. In the quarter-final, depending on the bracket they end up in, Arsenal could face Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid.
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Potential semi-final opponents include PSG, Liverpool, Barcelona, Club Brugge, Lille, Aston Villa, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund.
Aston Villa's potential route:
In the round of 16, Aston Villa will play either Borussia Dortmund or Club Brugge. In the quarter-final - bracket depending - they could face PSG, Benfica, Liverpool or Barcelona.
Potential semi-final opponents include Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Real Madrid and PSV.
Final 16 in full:
Liverpool
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Barcelona
Arsenal
Inter Milan
Atletico Madrid
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Bayer Leverkusen
Lille
Aston Villa
Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich
PSV
PSG
Benfica
Feyenoord
Club Brugge
Topics: Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Champions League
Josh Lawless