Who could Bundesliga clubs face in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds?
Bayer Leverkusen are through to the UEFA Champions League last 16, but Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund face a two-legged play-off to join them. Who could they each face? bundesliga.com gives you the lowdown ahead of Friday's draw...
The first Champions League league phase came to a close on Wednesday, with each of the 36 sides in the competition playing their eighth and final match. While RB Leipzig were already out of the competition, Leverkusen, Bayern, Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart were all still in contention.
A 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain saw Stuttgart fall agonisingly short, but victories for the other three German representatives saw them finish on a high, though the trio were already guaranteed a place in the knockouts regardless.
Bayer's 2-0 triumph over Sparta Prague secured sixth place, which booked them a spot directly in the round of 16. Despite respective wins over Slovan Bratislava and Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayern and BVB missed out on the top eight and go into the play-offs.
How the knockouts draw will work?
The new Champions League format means teams will be seeded and paired based on their final positions. For example, teams nine and 10 are together, 11 and 12 together, and so on down to 23/24.
A team from the highest-ranked pairing (nine and 10) will then be drawn against a team from the lowest-ranked pairing (23 and 24). The remaining two will then also face each other. The same process continues with the next best against the next lowest through to 15th/16th against 17th/18th.
At the same time, each match-up is assigned a side of the draw (silver and blue), which is then used to determine their potential opponent in the last 16, whereby the top eight are again paired (first/second, third/fourth, fifth/sixth and seventh/eighth), with one assigned to the silver or blue path.
The positions of pairings are already predetermined (like in tennis) to theoretically reward teams seeded higher. The draws simply determine on which side teams will compete, adding an unknown element to the process.
There are no restrictions on who can face who in terms of country protection or avoiding opponents from the league phase.
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Bayer Leverkusen
Last 16 opponents: Manchester City, Celtic, Bayern or Real Madrid
A sixth-placed finish means Leverkusen can watch the play-off round without getting involved. However, their relatively low ranking in the top eight means they face a challenging last-16 tie.
Die Werkself will face one of Manchester City, Celtic, Bayern or Real Madrid. Should they make it through, they could come up against either Inter Milan, Arsenal, AC Milan or Juventus in the quarter-finals, while Liverpool, Barcelona or PSG await in the semis.
Bayern Munich
Last 16 play-off opponents: Celtic or Manchester City
The Bavarians ultimately missed out on the top eight by just a single point, even though only Barcelona (28) scored more than their 20 goals among the league phase's leading group.
Their potential play-off opponents are contrasting in current stature. While Celtic last reached the knockout stages of this competition 12 years ago and have never beaten the 31-time Bundesliga winners, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City lifted the trophy in 2022/23 and beat Bayern 4-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals along the way.
Victory against either could set up a mouth-watering all-Bundesliga clash with Leverkusen, with Atlético Madrid their only other potential opponents in the last 16.
Borussia Dortmund
Last 16 play-off opponents: Club Brugge or Sporting Lisbon
Unlike their Bundesliga form, Dortmund have been impressive in Europe this season. They also finished just a point adrift of Aston Villa in eighth, and even ended up two positions above Klassiker rivals Bayern courtesy of a superior goal difference.
Their reward is a two-legged tie with either Sporting Lisbon, who boast man of the moment and former St. Pauli forward Viktor Gyökeres, or Club Brugge. If they make it through that unscathed, Aston Villa - where Dortmund would be reunited with former winger Donyell Malen - or Lille would be next.
Liverpool, Barcelona and PSG are among Dortmund's potential quarter-final opponents, as are Bayern and Leverkusen in the final four.
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