When is the Champions League last 16 draw? Date, format, seeding explained

The road to the 2026 Champions League final in Budapest took its next decisive turn on Friday, 27 February, when UEFA’s deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti began pulling balls from the bowls at the House of European Football in Nyon. At 11:00 GMT sharp, the draw locked in the pairings for the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, giving the 16 surviving clubs a clear map to the Puskás Arena on 30 May.

Format in brief The eight playoff victors were paired with the eight highest-placed finishers from the league phase. Fixtures from the last 16 onward remain two-legged affairs, with the seeded side—those that finished inside the top eight—receiving the second leg at home. Should a seeded team fall, its conqueror inherits that status for the next round. Quarter-final ties are scheduled for 7-8 and 14-15 April, the semi-finals for 28-29 April and 5-6 May, and the single-match final closes the campaign in Hungary at the end of May.

Seeding advantages Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Tottenham, the top four league-phase finishers, are guaranteed to play the second leg of any quarter-final at home if they advance. Arsenal and Bayern, as the first- and second-placed teams, would also hold that privilege in a prospective semi-final.

Who faces whom The draw produced several heavyweight collisions. Real Madrid, returning to the knockout stage via the playoffs, were handed a meeting with either Manchester City or Sporting CP. Paris Saint-Germain, fresh from retaining their title, must overcome either Barcelona or Chelsea. Liverpool will tackle either Atlético Madrid or Galatasaray, while Arsenal or Bayern Munich will meet Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen.

Cinderella stories Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt, population 52,000 and located 100 km inside the Arctic Circle, stunned Inter Milan in the playoffs and earlier shocked Manchester City and Atlético in the league phase. Their reward is a last-16 duel—possibly against Pep Guardiola’s side if the English champions avoid Madrid. Galatasaray, meanwhile, advanced on the back of a 5-2 first-leg demolition of Juventus and a dramatic extra-time escape in Turin.

Local rivalries allowed UEFA regulations permit clubs from the same nation to meet from the round of 16 onward, and repeat fixtures from the autumn league phase are also fair game. With five English clubs among the seeded group—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham—an all-Premier League showdown remains a live possibility.

First legs of the last 16 will be played 10-11 March, with return legs 17-18 March. From there, the bracket is set: every club now knows the names that could stand between them and a shot at European glory in the Hungarian capital on 30 May.