Champions League Knockout Draw: Everything You Need to Know
The dramatic league phase of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League has concluded, setting the stage for the high-stakes knockout phase play-off draw. While the top eight sides have secured a coveted bye directly into the last 16, a further sixteen elite clubs must now navigate a perilous two-legged play-off to keep their European dreams alive.
When and Where is the Champions League Knockout Phase Play-Off Draw?
The pivotal draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs is scheduled to commence at 11am GMT on Friday, 30 January 2026. The event will be held at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. This draw exclusively involves the teams that finished between ninth and twenty-fourth place in the recently concluded league phase.
Which Teams Are in the Draw?
A prestigious lineup of sixteen clubs has qualified for the play-off draw, headlined by the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, and the competition's most successful club, Real Madrid. The teams are split into seeded and unseeded categories based on their league phase finishing positions.
The seeded teams are:
- 9. Real Madrid (Spain)
- 10. Inter Milan (Italy)
- 11. Paris St. Germain (France)
- 12. Newcastle United (England)
- 13. Juventus (Italy)
- 14. Atletico Madrid (Spain)
- 15. Atalanta (Italy)
- 16. Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
The unseeded teams are:
- 17. Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
- 18. Olympiacos (Greece)
- 19. Club Brugge (Belgium)
- 20. Galatasaray (Turkey)
- 21. AS Monaco (France)
- 22. Qarabag (Azerbaijan)
- 23. Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
- 24. Benfica (Portugal)
How to Watch the Champions League Draw Live
Football fans can follow the draw live via UEFA's official website and the UEFA Champions League app. For comprehensive coverage, including instant results and expert reaction, Independent Sport will be running a dedicated live blog throughout the event.
How Will the Play-Off Draw Work?
The draw mechanism is designed to pair seeded clubs against unseeded opponents. The clubs are grouped into four seeded pairs (positions 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, 15/16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17/18, 19/20, 21/22, 23/24).
Each seeded pair will be drawn against a specific unseeded pair:
- Clubs 9 or 10 will face clubs 23 or 24.
- Clubs 11 or 12 will face clubs 21 or 22.
- Clubs 13 or 14 will face clubs 19 or 20.
- Clubs 15 or 16 will face clubs 17 or 18.
Notably, there are no restrictions preventing teams from the same national association, or those that met in the league phase, from being drawn against each other in these play-offs.
Play-Off and Round of 16 Schedule
The knockout phase play-off ties will be contested over two legs. The seeded team in each tie is slated to play the decisive second leg at home.
- First legs: 17-18 February 2026
- Second legs: 24-25 February 2026
The eight victorious teams from these play-offs will then advance to the draw for the round of 16. That subsequent draw is scheduled for Friday, 27 February 2026, marking the next critical step on the road to the final.
The importance of securing a top-eight finish and avoiding this play-off round cannot be overstated, as it provides a crucial rest period in an intensely packed football calendar. However, as Paris Saint-Germain demonstrated last season, navigating this stage is no insurmountable barrier to ultimate glory, having overcome Brest in the play-offs before embarking on a memorable run to clinch the trophy.
