How many teams advance in the UEFA Champions League? Standings, round of 16 qualifiers, seeding, more

Matchday 8 of the league phase will determine the next chapter of the UEFA Champions League as the new format completely changed from previous seasons. While only Liverpool and FC Barcelona secured their spots for the Round of 16 phase, Manchester City and PSG are fighting to end up in the top 24 and might risk being eliminated on Wednesday, when all the 16 games will be played at 3:00 p.m. ET.  

What has changed?

In the past, 16 teams had access to the Round of 16 after the group stages. With the new format, 24 sides will qualify for the knockout phase, and the playoffs will eliminate eight teams. The winning teams will face the teams that qualified directly in the league phase, while the others are eliminated from the competition. The draw will take place on Friday, January 31, at 6 a.m. ET. 

From the knockout phase onwards the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finish the league phase between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the first draw for the knockout phase, and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will play the return leg at home. Opponents are pre-defined by the final standing of the league phase. Teams ending up ninth and tenth will face the sides that ended 23rd or 24th, for example. 

When do the knockout phase playoff games take place?

The knockout phase play-offs are played over the course of two weeks:

• First legs: 11-12 February 2025
• Second legs: 18-19 February 2025

Key dates

• Round of 16: 4-5 and 11-12 March 2025
• Quarter finals: 8-9 and 15-16 April 2025
• Semifinals: 29-30 April and 6-7 May 2025
• Final: 31 May 2025

Who has qualified?

Directly to round of 16: Liverpool, Barcelona

Round of 16 or knockout round playoffs: Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bayern Munich, Brest, Celtic, Dortmund, Feyenoord, Inter Milan, Juventus, Leverkusen, Lille, Milan, Monaco, Real Madrid

On the brink (Nine clubs fighting for six remaining playoff spots): PSV, Club Brugge, Benfica, PSG, Sporting, Stuttgart

Outside looking in: Manchester City (8 PTS; +2 GD), Dinamo (8 PTS; -8 GD), Shakhtar (7 PTS; -6 GD)

Eliminated: Bologna, Girona, RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade, Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz, Young Boys, Salzburg

Standings

Key: Positions 1-8 qualify for Round of 16 while positions 9-24 qualify for Knockout Phase Play-Offs and positions 25-36 are eliminated.

Pos Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS 1 Liverpool 7 7 0 0 15 2 +13 21 2 Barcelona 7 6 0 1 26 11 +15 18 3 Arsenal 7 5 1 1 14 2 +12 16 4 Inter 7 5 1 1 8 1 +7 16 5 Atletico Madrid 7 5 0 2 16 11 +5 15 6 AC Milan 7 5 0 2 13 9 +4 15 7 Atalanta 7 4 2 1 18 4 +14 14 8 Bayer Leverkusen 7 4 1 2 13 7 +6 13 9 Aston Villa 7 4 1 2 9 4 +5 13 10 AS Monaco 7 4 1 2 13 10 +3 13 11 Feyenoord 7 4 1 2 17 15 +2 13 12 Lille 7 4 1 2 11 9 +2 13 13 Brest 7 4 1 2 10 8 +2 13 14 Borussia Dortmund 7 4 0 3 19 1 +8 12 15 Bayern Munich 7 4 0 3 17 11 +6 12 16 Real Madrid 7 4 0 3 17 12 +5 12 17 Juventus 7 3 3 1 9 5 +4 12 18 Celtic 7 3 3 1 11 10 +1 12 19 PSV 7 3 3 1 11 10 +1 12 20 Club Brugge 7 3 2 2 6 8 -2 11 21 Benfica 7 3 1 3 14 12 +2 10 22 PSG 7 3 1 3 10 8 +2 10 23 Sporting CP 7 3 1 3 12 11 +1 10 24 Stuttgart 7 3 1 3 12 13 -1 10 25 Manchester City 7 2 2 3 15 13 +2 8 26 Dinamo Zagreb  7 2 2 3 10 18 -8 8 27 Shakhtar Donetsk 7 2 1 4 7 13 -6 7 28 Bologna 7 1 2 4 3 8 -5 5 29 Sparta Prague 7 1 1 5 7 19 -12 4 30 RB Leipzig  7 1 0 6 8 14 -6 3 31 Girona 7 1 0 6 4 11 -7 3 32 Crvena Zvezda 7 1 0 6 12 22 -10 3 33 Sturm Graz  7 1 0 6 4 14 -10 3 34 RB Salzburg 7 1 0 6 4 23 -19 3 35 Slovan Bratislava 7 0 0 7 6 24 -18 0 36 Young Boys 7 0 0 7 3 23 -20 0