UEFA Youth League round of 32 ties set
Friday, December 20, 2024
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The ties are set for the UEFA Youth League round of 32 on 11 and 12 February following the draw.
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The UEFA Youth League round of 32 draw has set the one-legged ties to be played on 11 and 12 February with holders Olympiacos facing debutants Girona, and former champions AZ Alkmaar and Benfica matched.
UEFA Youth League round of 32 ties
Inter vs LOSC Lille
Sporting CP vs Monaco
Salzburg vs Celtic
Barcelona vs GNK Dinamo
Stuttgart vs Liverpool
Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund
Dynamo Kyiv vs Atalanta
SK Rapid vs Atlético de Madrid
AZ Alkmaar vs Benfica
Trabzonspor vs Juventus
Midtjylland vs Manchester City
Olympiacos vs Girona
Real Betis vs Bayern München
Hoffenheim vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Puskás Akadémia vs Aston Villa
Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Sturm Graz
Under the new format, the 22 teams that qualified at the end of the UEFA Champions League path league phase are joined by the ten winners of the third round of the domestic champions path. The top six finishers in the league phase were paired at home to the teams ranked 17th to 22nd while the clubs that ended seventh to 16th visit the domestic champions path winners in the other match-ups.
Match dates and kick-off times will be announced by 12:00 CET on Tuesday 7 January. The 16 winners will enter the draw for the rest of the competition on 14 February, with the conclusion as usual a four-team knockout final tournament in Nyon, Switzerland on 25 and 28 April.
Team guide
• Olympiacos are the holders after winning from the domestic champions path, like AZ Alkmaar in 2022/23 and Salzburg in 2016/17. Olympiacos and AZ came through that path again.
• The 2021/22 winners Benfica will visit AZ. Other former champions involved along with AZ, Benfica, Olympiacos and Salzburg are Barcelona and Real Madrid.
• Shakhtar Donetsk are past runners-up while Atlético, Hoffenheim, Juventus, Man City and Sporting have reached the semi-finals.
• Atlético and Real Madrid kept up their record of always getting past the group stage/league phase. Real Madrid have reached at least the round of 16 in all 11 previous editions.
• Other previous quarter-finalists include Bayern, Dinamo, Dortmund, Inter (who finished top of the new league phase with a maximum 18 points), Liverpool and Midtjylland, who have now progressed through the domestic champions path a record seven times.
• Atalanta, Dynamo Kyiv and Monaco have also reached the round of 16.
• Continuing their debut campaigns are Aston Villa, Girona, Rapid, Real Betis, Sturm Graz and Stuttgart.
• Lokomotiva Zagreb, Puskás Akadémia and Trabzonspor are also featuring in the post-New Year knockout phase for the first time, while Celtic and Lille too are aiming for a round of 16 debut.
• Celtic, Puskás Akadémia and Trabzonspor could all be the first clubs from their nations to reach the last 16.
• Along with Inter, also unbeaten in the league phase were Sporting, Salzburg, Girona and Lille.
• Dortmund won 2-1 at Madrid in the league phase, the fifth time they have met in the competition. Both 2017/18 group games were home victories and each 2016/17 meeting went the way of the away side.
• Hoffenheim drew 1-1 at home to Shakhtar in the 2018/19 group stage having won 2-1 away.
Knockout draw and match dates
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 14 February, Nyon
Round of 16: 4/5 March
Quarter-finals: 1/2 April
Semi-finals: 25 April (Colovray Sports Centre, Nyon)
Final: 28 April (Colovray Sports Centre, Nyon)
