2025/26 Champions League Play-off Schedule

The 2025/26 Champions League play-off round brings together 16 strong teams, such as Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus, and Atletico, battling for the last 8 places in the round of 16 through two challenging matches.

2025/26 Champions League Play-off Schedule

The 2025/26 Champions League play-off matches will take place over two weeks, with first legs on February 17–18, 2026, and second legs on February 24–25, 2026. Each team will play one match early Wednesday morning and one early Thursday morning. Specific dates and kickoff times will be announced by UEFA after the draw on January 30. In case of scheduling or venue conflicts, UEFA will make adjustments according to the Club Competitions Committee regulations.

Bracket and Format

After the conclusion of the 2025/26 Champions League league phase, the list of 16 teams required to enter the knockout play-off round has been revealed, promising highly competitive and thrilling matchups. The play-off group includes well-known clubs such as Real Madrid, Inter Milan, PSG, Newcastle, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, alongside Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Monaco, Qarabag, and Bodo/Glimt.

The play-off round is a new format introduced by UEFA starting from the 2024/25 season and will continue in the 2025/26 Champions League. Under this system, the top 8 teams from the league phase qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams ranked 9 to 24 must compete in a two-legged play-off to secure the remaining 8 spots. From the play-off stage onward, the Champions League officially switches to a fixed knockout bracket format, replacing the previous free draw system.

In the play-off round, teams ranked 9 to 16 are seeded and will face teams ranked 17 to 24. The seeded teams have the advantage of hosting the second leg at home. Potential opponents for each team are predetermined based on league rankings; for example, teams ranked 9 and 10 can only meet teams ranked 23 or 24.

The play-off draw on January 30 will determine the 8 official pairings, with separate procedures for seeded and unseeded teams. Unseeded teams will be drawn first to fill predetermined slots in the bracket, followed by the seeded teams completing the matchups. Notably, clubs from the same country may face each other, and teams that met in the league phase could potentially meet again.

According to the expected bracket, the play-off ties will form from groups such as Dortmund/Olympiacos versus Atalanta/Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt or Benfica facing Real Madrid or Inter, Monaco or Qarabag against PSG or Newcastle, while Club Brugge or Galatasaray will meet Juventus or Atletico Madrid.