Champions League Draw to set last-16 ties and map the route to Budapest final
The champions league draw will be held on Friday at 11: 00 GMT, when 16 teams discover their last-16 opponents and the side of the bracket that determines who they could meet in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.
Draw day will place teams on a full knockout bracket
Friday's draw will combine the eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs with the top eight sides from the league-phase table to form the last 16. The draw will also allocate a side of the bracket for each team, meaning every club will know the path through to the quarter-final, semi-final and final if they progress.
Who is already in the hat and who they could face
Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are already confirmed among the top-eight seeds in the draw. Arsenal will be drawn against one of Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta. Liverpool and Tottenham, who finished third and fourth respectively in the league phase, will each meet one of Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray or Juventus. Manchester City will be drawn against one of Bodo/Glimt, Inter Milan, Real Madrid or Benfica.
Play-off results and remaining possible ties
Atletico Madrid completed a 7-4 aggregate victory over Club Brugge to advance from the knockout play-off round and are now confirmed as one of Liverpool's two possible opponents. Galatasaray hold a 5-2 advantage over Juventus after the first leg in Istanbul and remain a potential opponent for Liverpool or Tottenham. Borussia Dortmund have a 2-0 lead over Atalanta for the right to play Arsenal or Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid lead Benfica 1-0 in their tie.
One play-off run produced differing accounts in the available coverage: one account noted Newcastle were on course to reach the last 16 after a 6-1 win over Qarabag in their play-off first leg, while another stated Newcastle progressed 9-3 on aggregate and will face Chelsea or Barcelona in the last 16. Bodo/Glimt eliminated Inter Milan and will face either Manchester City or Sporting, and Bayer Leverkusen will play Bayern Munich or Arsenal. Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain hold a 3-2 lead before hosting Monaco, with the winner set to face Chelsea or Barcelona.
Seeding changes affect home advantage deep into the knockout rounds
The competition shifts fully to a knockout format from the last-16 stage, with each tie other than the final contested over two legs. Seeding in the last 16 will follow teams' final positions in the league phase: seeded sides (those finishing in the top eight) are given the advantage of playing second legs at home. For the first season, league-phase placings will also influence seeding for the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Teams finishing first to fourth at the end of the league phase will be seeded for the quarter-finals and thus play the second leg of their quarter-final at home, while the two sides finishing top and runner-up in the league will be seeded for the semi-finals and would play the second leg of their semi-final at home should they reach that stage. If a seeded team does not progress to the quarter or semi-finals, the team that knocks them out will inherit their seeding position.
Dates, schedule and the road ahead
The draw will take place from 11: 00 GMT on Friday (February 27) and will confirm each club's last-16 opponent. Last-16 first-leg ties are scheduled for either 10 or 11 March, with the reverse fixtures on 17-18 March. The Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary will host the 2025-26 final on 30 May.
Clubs and fans will learn not only immediate last-16 opponents on Friday but the bracket match-ups that outline possible quarter-final and semi-final pairings; the draw will therefore shape the route to Budapest and the rest of the season's knockout calendar.
