When is the Uefa Champions League 2025/26 knockout phase play-off draws? When will the matches be played?
The teams involved? How it works?
These questions will be taken care of as sixteen (16) teams gear up to reach the last sixteen (16) of the tournament.
On Wednesday 28 January, 2026, the Uefa Champions League 202526 League Phase was concluded with a whopping eighteen (18) games after which eight (8) teams secured automatic qualification into the Round of 16, while, sixteen (16) will fight for a spot in the knockouts.
These eight (8) teams have clinched their tickets to the next round of the tournament, they are:
- Arsenal
- Bayern Munich
- Liverpool
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Barcelona
- Chelsea
- Sporting CP
- Manchester City
See below all you need to know about the knockout phase play-off draws and the teams involved:
How the knockout phase play-off draws work?
The teams within the positions of 9th to 24th will now face each other in a two-legged Play-off games to pull out eight (8) teams that will progress to face the already qualified eight (8) teams. The eight (8) that scale through from the Play-offs will be the unseeded teams; their opponents will be determined by who ended where in the top eight (8).
Teams from the same association can lock horns with each other in this stage.
Date of the draw for the Play-offs?
The Play-off draws will take place at the Headquarters of Uefa in Switzerland on Friday 30 January, 2026.
Teams in the Play-offs?
There are a total of sixteen (16) teams that will fight for their spots in the Round of 16 of the Uefa Champions League 2025/26. They are:
- Real Madrid (9th)
- Inter (10th)
- Paris Saint-Germaine (11th)
- Newcastle United (12th)
- Juventus (13th)
- Atletico Madrid (14th)
- Atalanta (15th)
- Bayer Leverkusen (16th)
- Borussia Dortmund (17th)
- Olympiacos (18th)
- Club Brugge (19th)
- Galatasaray (20th)
- AS Monaco (21st)
- Qarabag FK (22nd)
- Bodo/Glimt (23rd)
- Benfica (24th)
When will the Play-offs hold?
The matches will take place over the midweeks of February 17-18 and 24-25.
When will the draw for the Round of 16 hold?
After the knockout phase play-off round is concluded, the draw for the round of 16, quarter finals and semi finals will take place on February 27.
It was a big drama for Jose Mourinho’s Benfica on the final day of the League Phase as the Portuguese manager guided his side to a 4-2 home win over his former club, Real Madrid.
The outcome helped Benfica secure the last spot for the Play-offs.
Photo: Benfica players celebrate after beating Real Madrid in the final UCL League Phase match to reach the Play-offs
