Serie A

Champions League play-off draw: start time, rules, where to watch on TV

January 30, 2026

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Champions League play-off draw: start time, rules, where to watch on TV

The Champions League play-off draw takes place today, Friday, January 30, 2026, at 12:00 CET, involving Inter, Juventus and Atalanta.

Serie A sides Inter, Juventus and Atalanta will find out their opponents in the Champions League knock-out play-off today.

The Nerazzurri were the best-placed Italian team in the league phase, followed by Juventus and Atalanta, while Napoli were eliminated. All the Italian clubs are seeded teams, which means they’ll play the return leg at home.

Inter (10th) and Real Madrid (ninth) will be drawn against either Benfica (24th) or Bodo/Glimt (23rd) in the play-off rounds.

Juventus (13th) and Atletico Madrid (14th) will be drawn against either Galatasaray (20th) or Club Brugge (19th).

Atalanta (15th) and Bayer Leverkusen (16th) will be drawn against either Olympiacos (18th) or Borussia Dortmund (17th).

Below are the teams involved in the Champions League knock-out play-off.

TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 25: Jonathan David of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammates Weston McKennie and Kenan Yildiz during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and SSC Napoli at Juventus Stadium on January 25, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Seeded
Real Madrid (ESP)
Inter (ITA)
Paris (FRA)
Newcastle (ENG)
Juventus (ITA)
Atleti (ESP)
Atalanta (ITA)
Leverkusen (GER)

Unseeded
B. Dortmund (GER)
Olympiacos (GRE)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Galatasaray (TUR)
Monaco (FRA)
Qarabağ (AZE)
Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
Benfica (POR)

Champions League knock-out play-off draw rules

The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13 and 14, and 15 and 16) and four unseeded pairs (positions 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24).

BERGAMO, ITALY - JANUARY 25: Giacomo Raspdori of Atalanta celebrates scoring his team's third goal with teammate Nikola Krstovic of Atalanta during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Parma Calcio 1913 at Gewiss Stadium on January 25, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) — BERGAMO, ITALY – JANUARY 25: Giacomo Raspadori of Atalanta celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with teammate Nikola Krstovic of Atalanta during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Parma Calcio 1913 at Gewiss Stadium on January 25, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into the knockout phase bracket, against the clubs in each unseeded pair: clubs 9 or 10 against clubs 23 or 24, clubs 11 or 12 against clubs 21 or 22, clubs 13 or 14 against clubs 19 or 20, and clubs 15 or 16 against clubs 17 or 18.

Champions League knock-out play-off draw – where to watch

The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com and the official UEFA Champions League app. Football Italia will provide live updates via a live blog. The Europa League play-off draw will take place at 13:00 CET, and Bologna will be the only team involved, as Roma have qualified for the Round of 16 by finishing 8th.

Source From: Football Italia

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