Man City now face a huge Champions League match against Real Madrid just days before their Premier League game against Liverpool in February.
Pep Guardiola’s side finished 22nd in the inaugural Champions League league phase, therefore they must play an extra play-off round before the last 16 stage.
They have been drawn to play Real Madrid in the play-off round with the first leg to take place on February 11/12 and the second leg on February 18/19 at the Bernabeu.
Liverpool are set to play Man City just a few days later, kicking off at 4.30pm on Sunday, February 23.
This could be an advantage for Liverpool who are scheduled to have a rare midweek off from match action in the week leading up to the Etihad clash.
However, this won’t be the case if the Reds reach the Carabao Cup final. Should that happen, Liverpool’s match against Aston Villa will be rescheduled for Wednesday, February 19 at 7.30pm.
Three days after the game in Manchester, Liverpool have a home game against Newcastle, while Man City travel to Tottenham.
The Reds avoided the extra knockout round thanks to finishing in the top eight, first in fact, of the 36-team league phase.
Liverpool know they will face either Monaco, Brest, PSG or Benfica but will have to wait until the draw on February 21 to find out exactly who.
PSG will face Brest while Monaco play Benfica in the play-off round. Once those ties have been concluded, the aforementioned draw will take place to determine which team Liverpool will play.
The round of 16 will see Liverpool play at Anfield in the second leg, but this isn’t guaranteed at any stage from the quarter-final onward.
Because Liverpool finished top and Barcelona finished second, the two can’t meet until the final.
We also know that Arne Slot‘s side can’t play Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen or Inter Milan until the semi-finals.
Full Champions League play-off round draw
• Brest vs. PSG• Monaco vs. Benfica• Juventus vs. PSV• Feyenoord vs. AC Milan• Man City vs. Real Madrid• Celtic vs. Bayern Munich• Club Brugge vs. Atalanta• Sporting vs. Borussia Dortmund
