Bear with us (and Uefa...)

Where a team finishes in the Champions League table will determine, to a certain extent, which team they will face in the knockout stages.

Uefa have factored in an element of chance, so a draw still has to take place following the end of the league phase.

Teams from ninth to 24th are grouped together in pairs and exactly which team they will face in the knockout play-off and last 16 will be determined by a draw - taking place on 31 January.

For example, teams that finish ninth or 10th will face either the 23rd or 24th-placed team in the play-off. The winners of those ties will then play a team that finished seventh or eighth in the last 16.

Got it? No, it took us a while to get there too.

Don't worry, it will become clearer after this league phase has finished.

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Right, back to the Champions League format and how the draw for the knockout stages will work...

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Nuri Sahin was appointed Borussia Dortmund boss in June 2024 as a replacement for Edin Terzic, who left the club following their Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

The 36-year-old had two stints at Dortmund as a player and described it as a "special club" as he wished them "all the best".

"Unfortunately, we have not managed to live up to Borussia Dortmund's sporting ambitions this season," he added.

The club's sporting director, Lars Ricken, bid Sahin an equally fond farewell.

"This decision hurts me personally, but it was unavoidable after the game in Bologna," he said.

"We value Nuri Sahin and his work very much, we hoped for a long-term collaboration and until the end we had hoped that we could achieve a sporting turnaround together."

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Borussia Dortmund have sacked head coach Nuri Sahin after the 2-1 Champions League defeat at Bologna.

The German side have lost four successive matches in all competitions since the winter break.

Defeat to Bologna on Tuesday was their third loss in this season's Champions League, meaning last season's runners-up need a result against Shakhtar Donetsk in their final league phase game to have the chance to automatically reach the last 16.

A run of three domestic defeats to start 2025 has put them 10th in the Bundesliga, seven points outside the top four and therefore endangering their chances of a return to the Champions League next term.

So that means if Arsenal, currently in fifth, can climb up a place into the top four then they can rule out facing the top two - Liverpool or Barcelona - until at least the semi-final stage.

Right, stick with us and we will try to explain exactly how that draw for the knockout stages works in a moment.

But there is some news to bring you from Dortmund next...

Ian Dennis
BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter on the Football Daily podcast

The significance of Liverpool finishing in the top two is that you are going to have halves of the draw.

If you imagine what Wimbledon is like when they used to talk about Andy Murray or Tim Henman being in one half of the draw - you know who you are going to face as it is mapped out.

So Liverpool will avoid the play-offs but they know that they won't - as it currently stands - play Barcelona until the final. Equally, the teams that finish third or fourth, they will know that they will avoid the top two until the semi-final stage.

The potential you've got with other teams struggling in this format such as Manchester City, Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid - Liverpool know they will face one of the four teams in the round of 16 that finish either in positions 15, 16, 17 or 18, but at least then it will be mapped out for them.

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Arsenal currently sit fifth in the table before tonight's match against Dinamo Zagreb.

A win would likely move them up to third on 16 points and while it wouldn't quite guarantee them a top-eight finish, it would see them have one foot in there before next week's trip to Girona.

Like Aston Villa, the Gunners have already secured their place in the knockout play-offs but Mikel Arteta will be keen to get the job done and avoid those added February fixtures.

Right, let's have a look at what the three British sides in action tonight need to do to progress to the knockout rounds...

It depends which way you look at it Rob, but it's probably been a while since managers like Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique have had sleepless nights worrying about their sides' progress into the knockout stages.

Their respective clubs - Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris St-Germain - will all be walking that particular tightrope over the next two games.

We doubt anyone at Uefa would have expected that when dreaming up this new format.

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We will have a look next at the finer points of the new Champions League format and how the draw works for the knockout stages, as well as what the British sides involved in tonight's games need to progress.

What do you think of the chances of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Celtic and Manchester City?

How far will they progress? What should be their ambition?

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery says his side may have squandered their chances of finishing in the top eight of the Champions League following their loss at Monaco.

A win for Villa and they would have had one foot in the last 16, however, the loss means they will likely need to beat Celtic at Villa Park next week to avoid having to go into a two-legged knockout phase play-off.

"When we are playing games like this, it's important to get three points because I think we lost the opportunity to get in the top eight," Emery said. "Today was the key."

He hinted that his players did not show the right mentality against Monaco to seal their place in the last 16, but added: "We want it, and we need it."

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A win for Aston Villa on Tuesday evening would have put them in the driver's seat to secure a top eight finish in their first season back in the Champions League - but it wasn't to be.

Defeat to Monaco means they must now win their final fixture next week at home to Celtic and hope that 16 points is enough to seal a place in the last 16.

However, regardless of the outcome, they are guaranteed at least a place in the knockout play-off round, which begins in February.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport

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While it was all smiles at Anfield, defeat for Aston Villa at Monaco left manager Unai Emery with a furrowed brow.

His side missed the chance to all but secure their place in the Champions League knockouts.

Wilfried Singo got the game's only goal in the eighth minute, heading home from close range after Emiliano Martinez had initially done well to keep out Thilo Kehrer's effort.

Villa were not at their best, but did have chances to equalise, with Monaco goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki twice denying the visitors before half-time.

Defeat for Emery's side boosted Monaco's own automatic qualification hopes as they moved alongside Villa on 13 points.

The form of Mohamed Salah has also played a huge part in Liverpool's success - this season and in the eight years he has spent at Anfield.

The Egyptian forward's 50th goal in European competition for Liverpool was his 44th in the Champions League, added to five in last season's Europa League and one in Champions League qualifying.

His latest strike extends his record as the club's leading European goalscorer and he has now scored 20 Champions League goals at Anfield.

This season, the 32-year-old has scored three Champions League goals and 22 in 31 games in all competitions.

He has also set up another 17 for team-mates and his total of 39 goal involvements is the highest of any player in Europe's big five leagues.

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Mohamed Salah's 50th career goal in European competition was the big talking point for Liverpool manager Arne Slot after watching his side qualify for the last 16.

The Dutchman said that the opening goal of the 2-1 win over Lille exemplified why the Premier League leaders are enjoying such a successful season.

"This goal we scored probably tells you a lot about why we are top of the league and why we are doing so well," he said.

"The work rate from the players that won the ball back before Curtis [Jones] gave the great pass towards Mo tells you also why we are doing really well."

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Liverpool's victory over Lille last night was fundamentally good for them in that they are through to the last 16 and have secured a top-two seeding.

However, that is also positive for English clubs as a whole.

The countries who finish top in the European Performance Spots table will get five teams in next season's Champions League.

England are currently top - clear of Italy, Spain and Portugal - and while Aston Villa's defeat didn't help, bonus points are applied for every position in the table, with teams in the Champions League getting the most.

So Liverpool are heading for a chunky 12 or 11.75.

There has been so much talk about how well Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth have done in the Premier League this season. Their chances of Champions League qualification will increase if English clubs do well in Europe.

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Two teams have already secured their passage to the Champions League last 16 after Tuesday evening's results - Liverpool and Barcelona.

The Reds' 2-1 win over Lille means they are now guaranteed to finish first or second in the table.

Barcelona have also secured a top-eight finish and are the only team that can take top spot from Liverpool after their dramatic 5-4 victory against Benfica.

For the lead to change hands, Barcelona would need a win in their final fixture against Atalanta and hope for a Liverpool defeat to PSV Eindhoven.

Mohamed Salah scored his 50th European goal for Liverpool as the Reds booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with victory over 10-man Lille at Anfield.

Salah's goal came when he latched onto a brilliant Curtis Jones through ball and slotted over the advancing Lucas Chevalier in the 34th minute.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark when Aissa Mandi was given a second yellow card for tripping Luis Diaz. His first was complaining about a possible foul on Jonathan David in the build-up to the goal.

They surprisingly equalised three minutes later when David passed home after Hakon Haraldsson's effort was blocked.

Liverpool soon restored their advantage though when a corner was headed clear to Harvey Elliott and his deflected strike found the bottom corner for what turned out to be the winner.

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