Who can United face in the round of 16?

The final games are being played this week, with the Reds at home to Young Boys, and a picture is emerging of which clubs we could be paired with when the ceremony takes place on Monday 13 December.

So what lies in store for the boys in the knockout stages, which begin in February 2022?

OUR POSSIBLE LAST-16 OPPONENTS

Group A = Paris Saint-Germain
Group B = Atletico Madrid
Group C = Sporting
Group D = Inter Milan
Group E = Barcelona or Benfica
Group G = Lille, RB Salzburg, Sevilla or Wolfsburg
Group H = Juventus

Scroll down to read the state of play in each group...

THE STATE OF PLAY

Group A: Manchester City confirmed top spot in Group A with a 2-1 victory against Paris Saint-Germain late last month, and the French side will be one of the eight unseeded teams in the draw. RB Leipzig finished third and Club Brugge fourth.

Group B: Liverpool made it six wins from six on Tuesday night with an away victory over AC Milan, who have finished bottom of the pool. Atletico Madrid sealed second place with a 3-1 success at FC Porto.

Group C: Ajax rounded off an impressive group-stage campaign on Tuesday night with a 4-2 win over second-placed Sporting, making it 18 points from 18 for the Dutch giants. In a shock outcome, Borussia Dortmund have finished third on goal difference and therefore drop into the Europa League, with Besiktas placed fourth.

Group D: Real Madrid have progressed to the round of 16 as group winners with 15 points, following Tuesday's win over second-placed Internazionale. Sheriff did well to finish third in the pool and Shakhtar Donetsk will be disappointed by fourth place.

Group E: Barcelona or Benfica will emerge as potential rivals for United and the Catalans may be grateful Bayern Munich have already secured top spot and could have little to play for at the Allianz Arena on matchday six. As Benfica have the better of the head-to-head with Barca, victory against Dynamo Kiev would knock out the five-time winners if they fail to beat Bayern. However, the Bundesliga giants could seize the opportunity to help eliminate such a superpower, particularly with Robert Lewandowski, like Cristiano Ronaldo, aiming to score in every game in the 2021/22 competition.

Group F: Obviously, United cannot meet Villarreal or Atalanta in the next stage, nor any of the English clubs. However, Group G will throw up possible opponents with everything wide open in that section.

Group G: Wolfsburg are currently bottom but will qualify if they can beat leaders Lille at home in their final fixture. French champions Lille need only a point from that game to progress but are out if they lose. RB Salzburg are in second place and need to avoid defeat at home to Sevilla in their match. Sevilla have to win to leapfrog the Austrians. 

Group H: Chelsea and Juventus have already qualified, despite the Premier League leaders thumping the Serie A outfit 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The Blues finish at Zenit St Petersburg, needing to at least match Juve's result at home to Malmo to retain leadership of Group H and ensure the Old Lady are potential opponents for us.

The round-of-16 draw on 13 December is being staged in Nyon, Switzerland, at 11:00 GMT. It will be shown live on BT Sport in the UK. The group runners-up will be at home in the first leg of the ties, with the away-goals rule no longer counting.