Liverpool will be keeping an eye on the Champions League play-off draw in Switzerland this morning
Liverpool will face either Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray or Club Brugge in the Champions League last 16
Liverpool will face either Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray or Club Brugge in the Champions League last 16
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Resounding victory over Qarabag on Wednesday night ensured representatives of Liverpool didn't have to keep their Fridays free for a trip to Switzerland this morning for the Champions League play-off draw. But that doesn't mean the Reds won't be taking a keen interest in events from Nyon.
Arne Slot's side secured a top-eight berth and direct qualification for the last 16, with teams placed between ninth and 24th in the 36-team table now having to negotiate a two-legged play-off round to join Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City in the first knockout stage.
Since the introduction of the revamped Champions League last season, UEFA use a predetermined route based on final league placing to decide the pairings for the final stages of the competition.
Liverpool, by finishing third, are in the same pairing as fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. And they won't deviate from the path laid down for that bracket should they progress all the way to the final.
It's why the Reds already know they will face one of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge or Galatarasary in the last 16, with those clubs having finished 13th, 14th, 19th and 20th in the table.
Today's draw will determine the two play-off games involving the quartet, with Juventus and Atletico the seeded teams having finished highest.
It won't be until the draw for the remainder of the competition - which takes place on Friday, February 27 - that Liverpool discover which of the winners they face in the last 16, with Tottenham facing the other team. Those ties will take place in the midweeks of March 10/11 and March 17/18.
But parts of the Reds' potential route to the showpiece in Budapest on May 30 are already assured. In a change to last season's Champions League, Liverpool will have home advantage in the second leg of both the round of 16 and a possible quarter-final but will be away in the second leg should they reach the semi-final.
Arsenal and Bayern Munich, the top two in the Champions League table, are the only two teams who will have home advantage in the second leg throughout the knockout stage, although should they be eliminated it will be passed over to the team that beats them.
The seedings mean Liverpool know they cannot face either Arsenal or Bayern until the semi-finals. And of the other seeded teams that finished in the top eight, the Reds could face Chelsea or Barcelona in the quarter-finals but will avoid Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City.
Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain are other possible quarter-final opponents, but Inter, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund would, like Sporting and City, only come into play at the semi-final stage.
All clear? Didn't think so. But Liverpool will be keeping an eye on Champions League matters this morning.