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Who Arsenal, Liverpool And Others Could Face in Next Round of Champions League

Home> Football> Football News> Champions League

Published 07:00 28 Jan 2026 GMT

Who Arsenal, Liverpool And Others Could Face in Next Round of Champions League

The final matches of the 2025/26 Champions League group stage take place on Wednesday.

Ryan Smart

Ryan Smart

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Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City could still all finish in the top eight of this season's Champions League group stage - but that does not guarantee an easier route to the final.

Eight teams qualify for the round of 16 automatically, while the teams from ninth to 24th compete in a play-off to decide the other eight qualifiers.

Arsenal are top of the league table and only need a point from their final fixture against Kairat Almaty on Wednesday to finish there.

For Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, the situation is slightly more complex.

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Arne Slot's side, in fourth place, will be guaranteed a spot in the last 16 with a win, but may only need a point - while relying on results elsewhere - to qualify automatically.

Tottenham are in fifth and a point could be enough to secure them a place, but again may need all three away at Frankfurt.

Spurs defeated the German side 2-1 on aggregate last season under Ange Postecoglou to reach the Europa League semi-final, but are struggling for form under Thomas Frank and securing a repeat of their 1-0 away win in April will be a major challenge.

For Chelsea, who are in eighth and are one of eight teams currently on 13 points, they will likely need a win away at Napoli to avoid the play-offs.

Manchester City, meanwhile, are 11th and need to beat Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium and hope that three of the six teams above them all fail to win, while needing to win by a greater margin than Atletico Madrid and Atalanta below them if applicable.

And Newcastle are in a similar position to Chelsea in seventh - except they need to find a way past holders Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes.

Twitter account Football Rankings (@FootRankings) have used projected finishing positions to show the potential brackets for each team - including all five English clubs.

Arsenal's potential last 16 opponents

Arsenal are projected to finish in first place in the Champions League group stage (Image: Getty)
Arsenal are projected to finish in first place in the Champions League group stage (Image: Getty)

Arsenal are guaranteed to finish in the top two positions, with only Bayern Munich able to overtake them.

As per the projected finishing positions, Mikel Arteta's side would take on any of Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund.

Their quarter-final tie could then see them meet either fierce rivals Tottenham or Manchester City - who are both projected to finish in the play-offs - in an all-English clash.

Chelsea's potential last 16 opponents

Chelsea are projected to finish in 11th place in the Champions League group stage (Image: Getty)
Chelsea are projected to finish in 11th place in the Champions League group stage (Image: Getty)

Chelsea are projected to finish 11th after failing to defeat Napoli on the final day of the Champions League group phase.

They will take on fellow Premier League side Newcastle United in the play-offs, with no restriction on teams from the same nation playing each other at this stage of a UEFA competition.

Their reward for getting through that match would be a last 16 clash against either Barcelona or holders Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool's potential last 16 opponents

Liverpool are projected to finish in eighth place in the Champions League group stage (Image: Getty)
Liverpool are projected to finish in eighth place in the Champions League group stage (Image: Getty)

Arne Slot's side are projected to finish in third place, with the Reds predicted to defeat Azeri side Qarabag at Anfield.

They could then face Qarabag once again in the last 16 phase, with Marseille - who they also played in the group stage - Juventus or Atalanta their other projected options.

A quarter-final opponent from the Barcelona/PSG/Chelsea/Newcastle quartet would be up next for the Reds if they could progress to that stage.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Champions League, Football

Ryan Smart
Ryan Smart

Live in constant hope of the top flight as a Preston North End fan. Written in the past for SPORF, GiveMeSport and more.

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