Champions League last 16 draw LIVE: Arsenal & Man City to learn fate

It's December 18, it's nearly Christmas, and so that means a much bigger and holier day is upon us - Champions League last 16 draw day.

The comPetition's reformatting from next season onwards means this is the last we'll see the draw in this current guise of pitting group winners versus the runners up. Get ready to learn about the Swiss Model's top eight against play-off victors over the next few months, people.

Today's draw is scheduled to kick-off at 11am GMT and 12pm local time, but it wouldn't be UEFA without some kind of painstaking rigmarole to preface the main event.

Follow our live blog below and discover the key details you need to know about the draw.

LIVE BLOG

Coverage of the last 16 draw will begin at 11am GMT.

Who is in the Champions League last 16 draw?

The eight group winners heading into Monday's draw are Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Barcelona. They will be drawn as away teams for the first leg.

The runners up who will be drawn as the home sides for the first leg are Copenhagen, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Inter, Lazio, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig and Porto.

When will the last 16 ties be played?

The first legs of the last 16 ties will be played on 13, 14, 20 and 21 February, with the second legs taking place on 5, 6, 12 and 13 March. Two games will be played per night on those dates with all fixtures kicking off at 8pm GMT.

Can teams from the same country play each other?

Teams cannot be drawn against other sides from their own association at this stage of the comPetition. Country protection is only removed from the quarter-final stage onwards.

The only exception to this rule came during the 2005/06 season when Liverpool were allowed entry into the Champions League as the holders at a time where UEFA permitted a maximum of four teams from one nation to qualify. Everton finished fourth in the Premier League ahead of their city rivals and so the rules were changed to allow Liverpool in at the first qualifying round and without any country protection - they went on to draw Chelsea in the group stage.

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