2025/26 UEFA CL Final League Phase Takes Place Tonight

Rana Atef

The curtain falls this Wednesday evening on the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, as the eighth and final round is played simultaneously across Europe in a scenario that echoes the drama and intensity of last season’s debut under the competition’s new format.

All 18 fixtures will kick off at the same time, 10:00 p.m. Cairo time, with qualification, playoff places, and final standings still hanging in the balance for a host of Europe’s elite clubs.

This decisive round will determine the teams advancing directly to the round of 16, with clubs finishing from first to eighth securing automatic qualification.

Teams placed between ninth and 24th will be forced into a two-legged playoff round, from which the remaining knockout spots will be decided ahead of a new draw.

Under UEFA regulations, teams finishing ninth and 10th will face opponents ranked 23rd and 24th, while those in 11th and 12th will be drawn against teams in 21st and 22nd, with the same structure applied progressively throughout the playoff bracket.

The second legs will be hosted by teams ranked between ninth and 16th.

The playoff draw is scheduled for January 31.

The system also allows for rematches from the league phase and potential clashes between clubs from the same country, raising the prospect of high-stakes domestic showdowns at an early knockout stage.

So far, only two clubs have secured their places in the round of 16: England’s Arsenal and Germany’s Bayern Munich.

The remaining six automatic qualification spots are still up for grabs, with several European heavyweights locked in fierce competition, including Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain.