The 16 teams who have qualified for the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw will find out their opponents on Friday. Proceedings start in Switzerland at 11:00 GMT and will involve the teams that finished between ninth and 24th in the table.

The top eight sides in the league phase have automatically qualified for the last 16 to avoid a potential fixture pile-up in February. Friday's draw will also determine which pathway (silver or blue) teams will be in. The first legs of the play-offs take place on either 17 or 18 February and the second legs are one week later.

The process is fairly simple. Clubs are paired together based on where they finished at the end of the league phase to form seeded and unseeded pairs. The teams that finished ninth to 16th will be in the seeded pairs, while 17th to 24th will be in unseeded pairs. The seeded teams are drawn against unseeded teams. For example, 15th and 16th will face 17th and 18th. The seeded teams will play the second legs at home.

As Newcastle finished in 11th position, they will be paired with 12th-placed Paris St-Germain as a seeded pair. They are guaranteed to face either Monaco or Qarabag in the play-offs as they ended the league phase in 21st and 22nd respectively.

Once the eight winners of the play-offs have been determined they can progress to the last 16, where they will meet the top eight finishers from the league phase. From this point onward the competition adopts a knockout format, with each fixture other than the final contested over two legs. As with the play-offs, teams' final ranking in the league phase will influence seeding in the last 16, with seeded sides - those that finished in the top eight of the league - being given the advantage of playing their second fixture at home.

This is the first season that the position in which teams have placed in the league phase will also influence seeding for the quarter-final and semi-finals. Teams finishing first to fourth at the end of the league phase will be seeded for the quarter-finals, and therefore given the second leg home advantage for their potential quarter-final tie. The two sides who finish top and runner-up in the league will also be seeded for the semi-finals, earning them the benefit of playing the second leg of their semi-final tie at home should they reach that stage.

If a seeded team does not progress to the quarter or semi-finals, the team that knocked them out inherits their seeding position. The draw that will determine the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place on 27 February.

The dates for the knockout phase are as follows:

• Last 16: 10-11 and 17-18 March
• Quarter-finals: 7-8 and 14-15 April
• Semi-finals: 28-29 April and 5-6 May

Thanks to Richard in Saffron Walden for the question. This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. Who can discuss a free transfer in January? Can January signings play in the Champions League? Which countries are set to win extra Champions League places?