Explainers

ASTON VILLA will learn who they will face in the round of 16 of the Champions League and how they can get to the final THIS WEEK. Under the new league phase structure, the top eight teams avoided a two-leg play-off match and went straight to the round of 16.Teams placed ninth through twenty-four were compelled to participate in a play-off stage, where games were played over the previous two weeks, in order to secure the eight unseeded teams in the round of 16.Morgan Rodgers has been Aston Villa’s standout player in both domestic and European actionCredit: GettyAfter a 4-2 victory over Celtic on the penultimate matchday of last month, Unai Emery’s team finished in the top eight and advanced to the round of 16 as a seeded side. Villa accumulated 16 points with the result against Celtic being there fifth win in the league phase to sneak into the final seeded spot. Who could Aston Villa face in the Champions League Last 16 draw?The play-off ties’ 9th and 10th slot winners or the 23rd and 24th slot winners were assigned to Villa because of their eight-place league performance.READ MORE IN ASTON VILLA Those were Club Brugge, Atalanta, Sporting or Borussia Dortmund. After a 3-0 first-leg victory against Sporting, last year’s finalists Dortmund were virtually guaranteed to advance to the round of 16 and did so with a stalemate in the second leg. While Brugge defeated Atalanta 3-1 in their second leg, winning 5-2 overall with an early brace from Chemsdine Talbi proving decisive in match momentum. Villa’s opponent, either Dortmund or Club Brugge, will be determined by the draw in the round of 16 on Friday, February 21.Most read in Champions LeagueThe first leg of the last-16 matchups will take place on either March 4 or March 5, while the subsequent matches will follow a week later.Villa Park will host the second match, while Villa will travel as seeds for the first leg. More

TODAY’S draw will reveal Arsenal’s Champions League last-16 opponents.The top eight clubs advanced directly to the round of 16 under the new league phase format, avoiding a two-leg play-off match.Arsenal’s two potential opponents were decided on WednesdayCredit: GettyTo guarantee the eight unseeded teams in the round of 16, the teams ranked ninth through twenty-four were forced into a play-off stage – which saw the games completed over the past two weeks.The North London club coasted through their league phase with relative ease as they won six out of their eight games.Mikel Arteta’s side finished third – joint on points with Barcelona’s 19 – just behind table-toppers Liverpool. Who could Arsenal face in the Champions League Last 16 draw?Due to their third-place league performance, Arsenal was paired with either the 13th and 14th slot winners of the play-off ties or the 19th and 20th slot winners. READ MORE IN ARSENALThey were either PSV Eindhoven, Juventus, Feyenoord, or AC Milan.Following a 1-1 draw at the San Siro on Tuesday, Feyenoord advanced over AC Milan 2-1 on aggregate as Julian Carranza stunned the Serie A powerhouses with an equaliser in the 73rd minute.On Wednesday, Juventus led PSV 2-1 going into their second leg in Holland, but the Dutch champions rallied for a 4-3 aggregate victory after extra time.The last-16 draw on Friday, February 21 will decide Arsenal’s opponent, whether it be PSV or Feyenoord. Most read in Champions LeagueEither March 4 or March 5 will see the first leg of the last-16 matches, with the follow-up matches taking place a week later. Arsenal will travel for the first leg as seeds, while Emirates Stadium will host the second game. More

THE expanded Champions League has delighted and confused fans in equal abundance so far this season.More teams and more matches – plus a league table to contend with – have left many fans wondering what exactly is going on.Liverpool are already into the hat for the Champions League Round of 16 draw – but will have to wait to find out who their opponents areCredit: APThe second legs of the knockout phase play-offs are currently taking place right now.But then what?Here’s everything you need to know about the Champions League Last 16 draw and stages.When is the Champions League Last-16 stage draw?The main draw for the Champions League Last 16 phase takes place on Friday, February 21.Under the new league table format, which has 36 teams, the top eight teams in the table are automatically in the Round of 16 and are seeded.The bottom eight teams have been eliminated from European competition, with no move into the Europa League like in previous years.The next 16 teams – those that finished between 9th and 24th – have headed into the knockout play-offs.New Champions League format is a snorefestBy Dan KingUEFA sold the idea of expanding the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, with each playing eight games instead of six in the opening phase, as a way of creating more competitiveness and excitement.The biggest clubs would have two matches against their peers, rather than having to wait until the knockout stage to meet.The smaller clubs would meet teams of a similar level twice and have a chance of tasting victory that was so hard to achieve if you were the bottom seed in a group of four.Ignoring for a moment the fact that the real motivation was the simple equation of more games = more money, the theory itself already looks flawed.None of the matches between European giants has delivered a compelling contest yet.And why would they? At the start of the long season with more matches in it, why would any team with ambitions to win things in the spring, go out all guns blazing in the autumn?Especially when they know they have six games NOT against big sides to make sure they accrue enough points to qualify at least for the play-off round (and even more games).There is even less jeopardy than before.Read the full column on the Champions League format fail and why everyone – including YOU – needs a rethink.When does the Champions League knockout phase play-offs take place and when is the Round of 16?Teams that finished in the top eight and automatically reached the Round of 16 have a little bit of a wait on their hands.Most read in Champions LeagueAfter the final league phase game on January 29, the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona will not play their Champions League last 16 games until March.Those fixtures are scheduled to take place on March 4-5 and 11-12.What was the final Champions League league phase standings?Liverpool (straight into last 16)Barcelona (straight into last 16)Arsenal (straight into last 16)Inter (straight into last 16)Atletico Madrid (straight into last 16)Bayer Leverkusen (straight into last 16)Lille (straight into last 16)Aston Villa (straight into last 16)Atalanta (into last-16 play-off)Borussia Dortmund (into last-16 play-off)Real Madrid (into last-16 play-off)Bayern (into last-16 play-off)AC Milan (into last-16 play-off)PSV (into last-16 play-off)PSG (into last-16 play-off)Benfica (into last-16 play-off)Monaco (into last-16 play-off)Brest (into last-16 play-off)Feyenoord (into last-16 play-off)Juventus (into last-16 play-off)Celtic (into last-16 play-off)Man City (into last-16 play-off)Sporting (into last-16 play-off)Club Brugge (into last-16 play-off)Dinamo Zagreb (eliminated from Europe)Stuttgart (eliminated from Europe)Shakhtar Donetsk (eliminated from Europe)Bologna (eliminated from Europe)Crvenza Zvezda (eliminated from Europe)Sturm Graz (eliminated from Europe)Sparta Praha (eliminated from Europe)RB Leipzig (eliminated from Europe)Girona (eliminated from Europe)RB Salzburg (eliminated from Europe)Slovan (eliminated from Europe)Young Boys (eliminated from Europe)Premier League clubs opponentsHere’s how the English clubs are shaping up for the Last 16.These are the current opponents who Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa will face following the conclusion of the knockout phase play-offs.Last 16Liverpool vs PSG/BenficaArsenal vs PSV Eindhoven/FeyenoordAston Villa vs Borussia Dortmund/Club Brugge More

THE revamp of Europe’s elite club competition comes with an added boost to the coffers of contenders.The total prize pot for the Champions League is expected to be around £2.07BILLION this season – a huge increase on last year’s £1.68bn.There’s been an increase in prize money for the Champions LeagueCredit: ReutersHow much can each team earn by playing in Europe’s top competition?Each of the 36 League Phase clubs earned £15.6million for their participation, with £1.7m for each victory and £587k for each draw.The value of each spot in the table was £230k, therefore the club that comes second last in 35th place got double that amount, £461k, while the table-toppers got £8.3m.Clubs that placed 9th through 16th got £830k, while the top eight additionally received a £1.6m bonus.Reaching each knockout stage only results in more money being awarded – the Allianz Arena’s overall champions took home £21.1m.READ MORE IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUEPerformance-related prize money makes up 37.5 per cent (£766m) of the total pot. Of that amount, 35 per cent goes to Uefa’s recently established value pillar, which divides broadcast income based on coefficient points, while the remaining 27.5 per cent is divided equally among the 36 teams.That meant top-eight finishers Aston Villa earned LESS than play-off placed Manchester City, despite finishing above them, due to their poor coefficient.Here’s what each team have earned at the time of writing:Most read in Champions League1.Liverpool£82.9million2.Inter Milan£75.8m3.Arsenal£74.8m4.Barcelona£74.7m5.Bayer Leverkusen£72.9m6.Atletico Madrid£71.1m7.Bayern Munich£68.1m8.Paris Saint-Germain£67.7m9.LOSC Lille£65.8m10.Borussia Dortmund£65.8m11.Real Madrid£65.5m12.Manchester City£63.5m13.Aston Villa£59.5m14.Atalanta£56.1m15.Juventus£55.5m16.AC Milan£51.3m17.SL Benfica£50.5m18.AS Monaco£50m19.RB Leipzig£49.2m20.PSV Eindhoven£45.4m21.Feyenoord£45m22.Stade Brestois 29£43.4m23.Club Brugge£41.7m24.Sporting Lisbon£41m25.Celtic£38.7m26.Stuttgart£36.2m27.RB Salzburg£35.6m28.Shakhtar Donetsk£34.5m29.Dinamo Zagreb£33.2m30.Bologna£29.2m31.Red Star Belgrade£26.8m32.BSC Young Boys£25.3m33.Girona£25m34.Sparta Prague£23.9m35.Sturm Graz£23.4m36.Slovan Bratislava£18.3m More