THE Champions League league phase will conclude TONIGHT – with fans treated to a bumper round of action. All 36 clubs will be in action this evening as the race for a spot in the last-16

Manchester City face a blockbuster Champions League play-off tie against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich after scraping through the new league phase with a 3-1 victory over Club Brugge.

Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa have learned their fates for the next stage of the Champions League following the conclusion of the league phase. Liverpool had already guaranteed a top-eight spot and a place in the last-16 having won their first seven games in this year’s competition.

Liverpool will take on either Paris Saint Germain, Benfica, AS Monaco or Brest in the round of 16. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side will await one team out of AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord or Juventus. Villa will take on either Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Club Brugge or Sporting Clube de Portugal.

The draw for the knockout phase play-offs will be held pretty swiftly after the group stage is completed, with teams learning their fate on 31 January. Then the first legs will be played on 11-12 February and the second on 18-19 February. That gives the top eight teams a useful spell without European football as the round of 16 begins on 4 March.

The Champions League group stage concludes on Wednesday with 18 games taking place at the same time, but how does qualification work with knockout clashes, play-offs and elimination all to be decided?