Champions League knockout stage play-off draw: everything you need to know

The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League championship stage has concluded after a dramatic final round, with the competition now entering its first knockout stage.

While the top eight teams from the Championship Stage earned automatic qualification to the Round of 16, the next 16 teams must navigate the new knockout stage play-offs to keep their European hopes alive.

As matches pile up in domestic and continental competitions, this guaranteed rest for the top eight could yet prove decisive in the race for European silverware.

Last season showed that the road to the play-offs is far from a dead end. Several heavyweights were forced to take the longer route to February before launching into competition, highlighting how unforgiving the new format can be.

Here’s everything you need to know before the draw.

When will the draw for the play-offs for the knockout phase of the Champions League take place?

The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League knockout stage play-off draw will take place tomorrow, Friday 30 January, at 11am Irish time.

The draw will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Which teams are participating in the draw?

The draw presents the teams who finished ninth to 24th in the championship stage. Teams ranked 9th through 16th are seeded, while teams ranked 17th through 24th are unseeded.

Ranked teams (end of championship phase in brackets):

Real Madrid (9)
Inter Milan (10)
Paris Saint-Germain (11)
Newcastle United (12)
Juventus (13)
Atletico Madrid (14)
Atalanta (15)
Bayer Leverkusen (16)

Unranked teams:

Borussia Dortmund (17)
Olympiakos (18)
Club Brugge (19)
Galatasaray (20)
AS Monaco (21)
Karabakh (22)
Bodø/Glimt (23)
Benfica (24)

How does the draw take place?

Teams are matched based on their position in the championship phase.

The seeded pairs are:

9 and 10
11 and 12
13 and 14
15 and 16

The unclassified pairs are:

17 and 18
19 and 20
21 & 22
23 and 24

Each seeded pair will be drawn against a corresponding unseeded pair:

9 or 10 versus 23 or 24
11 or 12 versus 21 or 22
13 or 14 versus 19 or 20
15 or 16 versus 17 or 18

Unlike previous formats, teams from the same national association can compete against each other and clubs that met in the championship phase can also be brought together.