Overview
- The draw produced eight two-legged ties: Borussia Dortmund vs. Atalanta, Benfica vs. Real Madrid, AS Monaco vs. Paris Saint-Germain, Galatasaray vs. Juventus, Club Brugge vs. Atletico Madrid, FK Qarabag vs. Newcastle United, Bodo/Glimt vs. Inter Milan, and Olympiacos vs. Bayer Leverkusen.
- Only teams that finished 9th–24th in the league phase enter the playoff round, and those placed 9th–16th will host the second legs under the current format.
- UEFA mapped playoff winners to predetermined round-of-16 slots for the top-eight seeds, aligning Arsenal/Bayern, Liverpool/Spurs, Barcelona/Chelsea, and Sporting CP/Manchester City with specific playoff paths.
- There is no country protection for the remaining rounds, and the round-of-16 draw on Feb. 27 will finalize March matchups ahead of a May 30 final in Budapest.
- Yahoo Sports assesses Manchester City’s likely round-of-16 opponent as Real Madrid or Inter, describing City’s projected route as the toughest among Premier League sides.