In the knockout phase, the teams that finish between 9th and 16th will be seeded in the knockout phase play-off draw, meaning they will face a team placed 17th to 24th – with, in principle, the return leg at home. The eight clubs which prevail in the knockout phase play-offs will then progress to the round of 16, where they will each face one of the top-eight finishers, who will be seeded in the round of 16.
To strengthen the synergy between the league and knockout phases, and to provide more sporting incentive during the league phase, the pairings of the knockout phase will also be partly determined by the league phase rankings, with a draw which likewise determines and lays out the route for teams to reach the final.
From the round of 16 onwards, the competition will continue to follow its existing format of knockout rounds leading to the final staged at a neutral venue selected by UEFA.
From UEFA.com
The round of 16 and beyond will now be seeded, so the teams who finish first and second in the league phase cannot face each other until the final.
From The Athletic
I haven't been able to find the full competition regulations but this means we should not get a load of dead rubbers at the end of the group. It may well make the group stages better. Seeding the knockouts like tennis, as this implies, makes things better for the better teams - which we currently are one of.
As for the draw - am happy with Bratislava, Milan and Sporting as never been to the former and love the latter two cities. PSG I will swerve.
