Need to know
The Champions League knockout draw will soon take place and a host of English clubs are preparing to learn who they'll have to play to make it to the final
Champions League draw cards before being put into balls
The Champions League knockout draw will soon take place(Image: Getty)
Everything you need to know ahead of the UEFA Champions League knockout draw
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League knockout draw takes place on Friday, February 27. The ceremony will be held at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, starting at 11am in the UK.
The draw will be streamed live for free on the official UEFA.com website and the Champions League app. Fans can also tune in via local broadcasters such as TNT Sports in the UK or Paramount+ in the US.
Sixteen teams are involved, consisting of the top eight from the league phase and the eight winners of the knockout play-offs. These clubs will be paired together to form the Round of 16 fixtures.
The draw decides the specific matchups for the Round of 16 and the entire bracket path for the rest of the competition. This is the final draw of the season, as the route to the final is fully mapped out here.
The top eight league finishers are seeded and must be drawn against the unseeded play-off winners. Because the bracket is divided into fixed sections, each top-seeded team knows they will face one of only two possible play-off winners. Seeded teams also earn the advantage of playing their Round of 16 second-leg matches at home.
Quarter-final matchups are predetermined by the tournament bracket based on which Round of 16 pairings advance. Each team will know exactly which potential opponents they will face if they reach the last eight.
Semi-final pairings are similarly pre-mapped to ensure a clear path to the final for every qualifying club. This structure eliminates the need for any additional draws later in the spring.
Round of 16 matches are scheduled for March, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals following in April and May. The season concludes with the final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30, 2026.
Watch the Champions League on TNT Sports
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