The new Champions League format means that the traditional draw for the round of 16 has been replaced. Instead, there will be two draws: one to determine the pairings for the knockout play-off, and another one to determine the round of 16.
After the final matchday of the League Phase, the 16 teams between 9 and 24 will play the knockout play-off in February, while the top 8 await for their results. Depending on the placing, each team only has two options: teams ranked 9 or 10 will face teams 23 or 24, teams ranked 11 or 12 will only face teams ranked 21 or 22, and so on.
That is a way to, in theory, reward the teams that are better positioned by seeding them with teams that ranked lower and are supposedly "worse", although, in practice, there's very little reward for teams like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich (11 and 12) which may face Celtic (21)... or Manchester City (22). The other advantage is that teams placed 9-16 are seeded and will play the second leg of the play-off at home.
We now know the potential opponents for the play-off, but to know the final opponents we will have to wait until Friday, January 31, at 12:00 CET (11:00 AM in UK time) for the draw.
It will be the same event for Champions League and Europa League, which also finishes the League Phase on Thursday. It will be livestreamed on the UEFA website from the European Football HQ in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw will be like flipping a coin: each team only has two options, and we know which options are. The same thing will happen after those play-off matches are played on February 11/12 and 18/19: a second draw will take place on February 21 to seed the top 8 teams awaiting and the 8 teams that survive the play-off for the round of 16.