The league phase of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League is complete! After a truly wild final matchweek, we now know which 24 teams are still standing in Europe’s top club competition.

That means the draw for the knockout playoff round is nearly upon us. But who is taking part in this draw, and how will it all go down?

Here’s everything you need to know about the next big event on the Champions League calendar.

When is the draw for the knockout playoff round?

The draw for the knockout playoff round will take place Friday, Jan. 30, at 6 a.m. ET (11 a.m. GMT) at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

Which clubs are in the draw?

Sixteen teams are taking part. Teams that finished ninth through 16th in the league phase are seeded for the draw, and teams finishing 17th through 24th are unseeded.

The top eight teams in the league phase advanced directly to the round of 16, and clubs finishing 25th to 36th were eliminated.

What’s the purpose of the seeding system?

The seeding system introduced for 2024-25 ensures the higher-placed teams from the league phase won’t face each other in the knockout playoff round, theoretically creating a more balanced bracket.

All 16 teams in Friday’s draw are paired based on their final position in the league phase. Ninth-place Real Madrid are paired with 10th-place Internazionale, 11th-place Paris Saint-Germain with 12th-place Newcastle United, and so on. This creates eight sets of paired teams.

In the draw, each pairing will be split up and placed on opposite sides of the bracket.

How does the draw work?

The eight unseeded teams are drawn first into a position in the bracket. In each case, the first team drawn goes into the first half of the bracket, and the other club in the pair goes into the second half.

The draw then moves on to the seeded teams. Again, the first team drawn goes into the first half of the bracket and the second team goes in the other half. This automatically creates two knockout playoff round fixtures between seeded and unseeded teams.

The seeded clubs will play the second leg at home.

Here’s what the bracket looks like entering the draw.

Did it matter where teams finished in the table?

Potentially. Last season provided a notable example of how the new system can make a huge impact. Manchester City didn’t qualify for the knockouts until the final day of the league phase, and their 22nd-place finish meant they had to compete in the knockout playoff round. As an unseeded team, they were drawn against seeded Real Madrid, who won 6-3 over two legs.

On the flip side, PSG seemed unaffected by the extra round of matches, rolling past Brest in the playoffs and all the way to the title.

This year, PSG are once again outside the top eight, as are Inter Milan (their opponents in last year’s final) and Real Madrid after Los Blancos surprisingly lost 4-2 to Benfica on the final matchweek.

Is there any country protection?

No — clubs from the same country can play each other from the knockout playoff round onward.

Clubs can also be matched up against opponents they already faced in the league phase.

After the draw, what happens next?

Next, the teams drawn Friday compete in the two-legged knockout playoff round in February.

Once that round is complete, the draw for the round of 16 will be held Feb. 27. That draw will determine the round-of-16 matchups and finalize the bracket for the remainder of the knockout rounds.

What are the remaining important Champions League dates this season?

Knockout playoff round: Feb. 17-18, Feb. 24-25
Round of 16/quarterfinal/semifinal draw: Feb. 27
Round of 16: March 10-11, March 17-18
Quarterfinals: April 7-8, April 14-15
Semifinals: April 28-29, May 5-6
Final: May 30 (Budapest)