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Manchester City will face Real Madrid as Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa’s possible opponents are narrowed down.
Manchester City will face Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League’s knockout phase playoffs.
Pep Guardiola‘s side were paired with the holders following the draw in Switzerland.
Man City have to go through the playoffs to reach the last 16 due to finishing outside the top eight in the league phase. They beat Club Brugge on Wednesday to finish 22nd in the table and stay in the competition.
The first leg will be played on either Tuesday 11 February or Wednesday 12 February, with the second leg taking place a week later. It gives Man City a tough run of fixtures in February.
Man City’s February fixtures
2 Feb v Arsenal (A)
8 Feb v Leyton Orient (A) FA Cup
11/12 Feb v Real Madrid (H/A)
15 Feb v Newcastle (H)
18/19 Feb v Real Madrid (H/A)
23 Feb Liverpool (H)
26 Feb Spurs (A)
Should Man City beat Real Madrid and progress from the knockout phase, their last-16 opponents will be either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen.
Route to the final
What next for Liverpool, Arsenal and Villa?
Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa all qualified in the revamped tournament’s top eight, meaning they avoid a playoff and automatically progress to the Round of 16.
The round-of-16 matches are due to take place on the following dates.
Champions League Round of 16 – Match dates
First leg: 4/5 March
Second leg: 11/12 March
Liverpool, who topped the table with seven wins from their eight league-phase matches, know they will face one of Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Monaco, and Brest.
Arsenal finished third and will meet AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, or Juventus.
Aston Villa confirmed a top-eight finish by beating Celtic on Wednesday night. They will take on either Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting or Club Brugge in the round of 16.
Teams who finished from ninth to 16th are seeded, which in principle means they will play the second leg at home.
Europa League draw next
The draw for the Europa League knockout phase takes place at 12:00 GMT today.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have automatically progressed to the round of 16 after finishing in the top eight of the league phase, following wins over FCSB and Elfsborg respectively on Thursday.
Man Utd and Spurs know they will each face one team from Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar and FC Midtjylland in the round of 16.
Europa League Round of 16 – Match dates
First leg: 6 March
Second leg: 13 March
