The league stage of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League drew to a close on Wednesday with half of the last-16 teams decided. The top-eight have qualified automatically for the new format while the rest will be determined by a two-legged play-off.
The teams that have finished between ninth and 24th, of the 36 overall, find themselves in the knockouts that will be played in a home and away style.
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The teams that finished the league phase between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the playoffs and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team, in most cases, will play the return leg at home.
The potential opponents are pre-defined by how they fared in the eight-match league stage. For example, teams finishing ninth and tenth will face clubs that ended 23rd or 24th; teams finishing 11th or 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides.
Eventually, the eight clubs that prevail in the knockouts progress to the Round of 16.
Which teams are in the Champions League play-off draw?
As already mentioned, the teams that finished between ninth and 24th in the league phase have found their way into this two-legged knockout phase play-off. Win here will confirm their progress to the next stage.
Seeded teams
Atalanta (ITA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Bayern Munich (GER)
AC Milan (ITA)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Benfica (POR)
Unseeded teams
Monaco (FRA)
Brest (FRA)
Feyenoord (NED)
Juventus (ITA)
Celtic (SCO)
Manchester City (ENG)
Sporting CP (POR)
Club Brugge (BEL)
When is the Champions League playoff draw?
The draw for the Champions League playoff round will take place on 31 January (Friday) at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
| Knockout phase play-off draw | 31 January |
| Knockout phase play-offs | 11/12 & 18/19 February |
| Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final draws | 21 February |
| Round of 16 | 4/5 & 11/12 March |
| Quarter-finals | 8/9 & 15/16 April |
| Semi-finals | 29/30 April & 6/7 May |
| Final (in Munich) | 31 May |
What time is the Champions League playoff draw?
The draw for the Champions League playoff will take place at 4:30pm IST (6am ET/11am GMT).
How to live stream the Champions League playoff draw?
The draw for the UEFA Champions League playoffs will be live streamed on SonyLiv app and website. It will also be available on UEFA’s official website.
What is the format of the draw?
Eight bowls are set up for the draw, with balls containing the names of seeded and unseeded teams arranged in pairs based on their league phase position.
The draw begins with the unseeded teams, placing them into their designated positions in the bracket. This starts with the teams ranked 23rd and 24th and concludes with the teams ranked 17th and 18th.
A ball is drawn from the bowl for the 23rd and 24th-ranked teams, revealing the first team, which is placed in a reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The second unseeded team from the pair is then drawn and placed in its corresponding spot on the blue side.
This process continues with the other unseeded teams until all pairings are drawn and positioned on the bracket.
Once the unseeded teams are set, the draw proceeds with the seeded teams, starting with those ranked 15th and 16th. The same procedure applies: the first team drawn goes to the silver side, and the second to the blue side.
This method is repeated for the remaining pairings, ending with the teams ranked 9th and 10th to finalise the knockout round matchups.
In principle, seeded clubs are scheduled to play the return leg at home. Teams can encounter others from the same country during the knockout phase, as well as opponents they have already faced in the league phase.
When will the Champions League playoff matches be played?
The Champions League knockout phase playoffs will be played over the course of two weeks:
First legs: 11/12 February
Second legs: 18/19 February
Each club will ideally play once on a Tuesday and then on a Wednesday. UEFA, however, will confirm the schedule, including match dates and kick-off times, on the evening of the draw.
