UEFA has completed the draw for the 2026/27 Champions League play-off round, with 14 clubs discovering their final opponents in the race for a place in the league phase of Europe’s premier club competition.

The draw featured teams in both the champions path and the league path, setting up several intriguing encounters ahead of the decisive qualifying round.

The first-leg matches will be played on August 18 and 19, while the return fixtures are scheduled for August 25 and 26. The aggregate winners will secure qualification for the Champions League league phase, while the losing teams will continue their European campaigns in other UEFA competitions.

Champions path

Five ties were confirmed in the champions path, where domestic league champions from across Europe continue their quest to reach the Champions League proper.

PFC Levski Sofia or FC Kairat Almaty will face Greek side AEK Athens FC in one of the standout ties.

Scottish champions Celtic have been paired with Austrian club LASK in another highly anticipated fixture.

The winners of the tie between GNK Dinamo and FK Kauno Žalgiris will take on Norwegian champions Viking FK.

Swedish side Mjällby AIF or Slovak champions ŠK Slovan Bratislava will meet either FC Ararat-Armenia or Slovenian outfit NK Celje.

In the final champions path fixture, either Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC or Serbian giants FK Crvena Zvezda will face AGF Aarhus or Azerbaijan’s Sabah FC.

League path

Two fixtures were confirmed in the league path, featuring clubs that qualified through their domestic league positions rather than as league champions.

The winners of the tie between Turkish giants Fenerbahçe and Austrian champions Sturm Graz will face either Czech club Sparta Praha or French side Olympique Lyonnais.

In the second league path tie, either Olympiacos of Greece or Dutch side NEC Nijmegen will take on Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise or Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt.

Road to the league phase

The play-off round represents the final hurdle before the start of the revamped Champions League league phase.

With qualification to Europe’s most prestigious club competition at stake, the fixtures are expected to produce intense contests as clubs battle for the financial rewards and prestige that come with competing among the continent’s elite.

The successful teams will join Europe’s biggest clubs in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase, while those eliminated will continue their continental campaigns in UEFA’s other club competitions in line with the governing body’s competition regulations.

PFC Levski Sofia / FC Kairat Almaty vs AEK Athens FC

Celtic FC vs LASK

GNK Dinamo / FK Kauno Žalgiris vs Viking FK

Mjällby AIF / ŠK Slovan Bratislava vs FC Ararat-Armenia / NK Celje

Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC / FK Crvena Zvezda vs AGF Aarhus / Sabah FC

League path:

Fenerbahçe SK / SK Sturm Graz vs AC Sparta Praha / Olympique Lyonnais

Olympiacos FC / N.E.C. Nijmegen vs R. Union Saint-Gilloise / FK Bodø/Glimt