Sixteen teams will discover who they will face in the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw on Friday. Proceedings start in Switzerland at 11:00 GMT and will involve the teams that finish between ninth and 24th in the table. The top eight sides in the league phase - including Arsenal and Bayern Munich - automatically qualify for the last 16 and will avoid a potential fixture pile-up in February. The first legs of the play-offs take place on either 17 or 18 February and the second legs are one week later. League placement also matters for teams involved in the play-offs, so there is extra incentive to pick up points in the final round.

Source: BBC January 28, 2026 16:11 UTC