What's next for Bayern after Champions League play-off?

Bring on the Champions League round of 16! Six days after the 2-1 first leg win over Celtic in Glasgow, FC Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw in the second leg against the Scottish champions. This is the 21st time the German record champions have reached this stage of Europe’s elite club competition. In fact, since the introduction of the round of 16 in the 2003/04 Champions League season, only Real Madrid have reached this stage as often (though Los Blancos have the opportunity to increase their tally to 22 on Wednesday). Bayern are set to face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atlético Madrid at the beginning of March. Fcbayern.com has compiled all the most important information pertaining to the rest of the tournament schedule for you.

Round of 16 draw on Friday

The final draw of this current Champions League season will be held on Friday in Nyon, Switzerland, at 12:00 (CEST). In addition to deciding the fixtures for the round of 16, the draw will also encapsulate both the quarter- and semi-finals. However, some decisions were already made in the previous draw. For example, it has already been decided which side of the tournament bracket Bayern will be assigned to in the knockout stages (see diagram). On Friday, the eight seeded teams that qualified directly for the round of 16 will be drawn in pairs to face respective winners of the knockout play-offs, dependent on their position in the league phase. For Bayern, this means either Bayer Leverkusen or Atlético Madrid.

Should Vincent Kompany’s side advance through that round, their path for the remainder of the competition and all their possible opponents will already have been mapped out. The draw will therefore only determine which teams will play at home in each of the first legs of the quarter- and semi-finals, respectively. Curiously enough, it has also already been decided that Bayern would technically be the “away” team, if only nominally, should they reach the final held in Munich.

Leverkusen or Atlético - who will face Bayern in the round of 16?

An all-German showdown or a reunion with a fierce opponent from Spain? We’ll be examining Bayern's potential opponents in the last 16.

Bayer Leverkusen: It’s been a few years since Bayern last had to face fellow German side in European competition. The last time came in the 2013 Champions League final triumph over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley (2-1). You have to go even further back for the last time Bayern faced off against a Bundesliga team in a two-leg encounter, coming all the way back in 1999 when the record champions prevailed against FC Kaiserslautern in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (6-0 agg.).

So is another domestic clash coming up? One thing is for certain: there have been better times to face Die Werkself on the international stage. The reigning double winners are arguably enjoying one of the best periods in the club’s history, finishing a very respectable sixth in the league phase and remaining unbeaten in their last six meetings with FCB. However, following the 0-0 draw in Leverkusen in the Bundesliga last weekend, the Bavarian giants currently sit eight points ahead of Die Werkself in the domestic league.

Atlético Madrid: Diego Simeone’s team finished the league phase one place ahead of Leverkusen, having taken a strong 18 points from the eight games. Domestically, last year’s fourth-placed team in Spain is in a promising position in the title race, sitting just one point behind the giants of FC Barcelona and local rivals Real Madrid in La Liga. Atlético have faced off against Bayern eight times before and the record swings in the Munich side’s favour, with four wins, two draws, and two losses for FCB. However, the Colchoneros’ have tasted victory in the most recent meeting in a knockout round between the sides – eclipsing Bayern in the 2015/16 Champions League semi-final.

Other dates in the tournament

Bayern will play the first leg of the round of 16 at home in the Allianz Arena. They will then hit the road for the second leg the following week. The other rounds will take place in spring:

• Round of 16: 4/5 and 11/12 March TBC
• Quarter-finals: 8/9 and 15/16 April TBC
• Semi-finals: 29/30 April and 6/7 May TBC
• Final: 31 May (Munich)

Read the match report against Celtic here: