Champions League Play-In Draw Tonight at 7 PM: 16 Teams Battle for 8 Spots, Mourinho Could Face Real Madrid Again

On January 30 at 19:00 CET, the draw for the Champions League play-in round will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Sixteen teams will be divided into seeded and unseeded pots for a two-legged knockout, determining the 8 teams advancing to the Round of 16. José Mourinho’s Benfica could potentially meet Real Madrid again.

Directly Qualified to Round of 16:
The top 8 teams from the league stage advance automatically: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting CP, and Manchester City.

Play-In Teams (16 teams competing for 8 spots):
Seeded (rank 9–16): Real Madrid, Inter, PSG, Newcastle, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen.
Unseeded (rank 17–24): Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Monaco, Qarabağ, Bodø/Glimt, Benfica.

Draw Rules:
Seeded teams are grouped by ranking (9–10, 11–12, 13–14, 15–16), as are unseeded teams (17–18, 19–20, 21–22, 23–24), and matchups are drawn accordingly. There is no country or previous matchup protection, meaning same-league teams or teams that faced each other in the group stage may meet again (e.g., Real Madrid vs Benfica, Leverkusen vs Dortmund).

Match Schedule:
Two-legged ties, with seeded teams hosting the second leg. First legs expected on February 17–18, second legs February 24–25. The 8 winners advance to the Round of 16, with the draw scheduled for February 27.