UCL Knockout Draw: Draw Rules and Possible Matchups

UCL Knockout Round Play-Off draw will take place at 11:00 UTC at Nyon, Switzerland. The following will explicitly explain to you what would happen in this draw.

Draw Rules:

The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13 and 14, and 15 and 16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24).

The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into the knockout phase bracket, against the clubs in each unseeded pair: clubs 9 or 10 against clubs 23 or 24, clubs 11 or 12 against clubs 21 or 22, clubs 13 or 14 against clubs 19 or 20, and clubs 15 or 16 against clubs 17 or 18.

Seeded teams for the quarter-finals (i.e. those teams finishing first to fourth at the end of the league phase) will have the advantage of playing the second leg of their quarter-final tie at home if they make it that far. Furthermore, the seeded teams for the semi-finals (i.e. those that finish first and second at the end of the league phase) will play the second leg of their semi-final tie at home if they progress to that stage. However, if a seeded team is beaten in any round, the team that eliminates them takes over their seeding position.

Timeline:

Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026 

Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final draws: 27 February 2026 

Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026 

Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026 

Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026 

Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)