Reason finishing in top 8 Champions League spots means avoiding fixture pile-up

The 2025/26 Champions League league phase will have two more fixtures after this week’s games, with teams looking to book their spot in the next round of the competition

Everything you need to know about the Champions League format and why the top eight teams will avoid two more fixtures in the new year…

• Expanded league phase: The new Champions League format significantly expands the competition, moving from 32 teams to 36 and replacing the traditional group stage. This new system features a single league phase where all participants are ranked together, creating a much larger and more complex initial stage.
• New match structure: During the league phase, every team participates in eight matches against eight different opponents, with four games played at home and four away. This randomised structure ensures clubs face a wider variety of competitors, departing from the typical home-and-away mini-league format.
• Direct qualification reward: The top eight teams in the final league standings automatically secure direct qualification into the Round of 16 knockout stage. Bypassing the play-off round grants these top clubs a distinct advantage, including rest and a guaranteed spot in the main knockout bracket.
• Play-off knockout stage: Teams ranked from 9th to 24th will enter a two-legged knockout phase play-off to determine the eight remaining Round of 16 spots. The lowest 12 teams (25th position onwards) are eliminated from European competition entirely upon the conclusion of the league phase.
• New Year games: For any teams that have to settle for a play-off spot, they will return to Champions League action in February. The knockout phase play-offs are set to take place on 17/18 & 24/25 February.
• 2026 schedule: After that, the Champions League campaign returns in March, The round of 16 ties will be played on 10/11 & 17/18 March, the quarter-finals on 7/8 & 14/15 April, semi-finals on 28/29 April & 5/6 May and the final in Budapest is scheduled for 30 May 2026.
• No Europa League insurance: When the competition moved to its new format, it meant that teams no longer dropped into the Europa League. Some clubs used the drop to the competition as a ‘second chance’ but the new format doesn’t allow for him.