Eight teams have already made their way through the league stage and into the Round of 16. Over the next fortnight, the 16 teams who finished ninth to 24th in the table will battle it out for the chance to join them.
Five of the six English teams are amongst the seeds, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City have confirmed their place in the next phase. Newcastle United are one of the 16 teams battling it out to join them.
Let's take a closer look at the games coming up this week in the Champions League Playoffs 1st Leg. Kick off times are 8pm unless otherwise stated.
Galatasaray (20th) face Juventus (13th) in Istanbul on Tuesday in the early kick off. Galatasaray have not won any of their last four in the Champions League, losing three, whereas Juventus have gone five games unbeaten in the competition (W3, D2).
A rematch of their Matchday 8 classic which saw Benfica defeat Real Madrid 4-2, confirming their place in the playoffs and dropping Real into the playoffs from the seeded positions. Jose Mourinho will be looking to inflict more pain on his former club in Lisbon on Tuesday night.
Benfica v Real Madrid
Two attack-minded teams meet in Dortmund on Tuesday with both having endured a mixed campaign in the league stage, combining positive results, with some surprising defeats. Both team come into this game having won all of their last three games.
Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta
Monaco have already earned a home win over PSG in Ligue 1 this season, but the current European Champions will be looking to kick start their campaign much like they did last season, with a win in this stage.
Monaco v Paris St.Germain
After being thrashed 6-0 away to Liverpool on the final night of fixtures, Qarabag hung on to a place in the playoff phase. Newcastle have had a solid European campaign and will be confident of landing a good result here.
Qarabag v Newcastle Utd
Club Brugge have enjoyed some outstanding wins at home, scoring plenty of goals against some good quality opposition. Atletico Madrid have had a mixed campaign but have the quality to land a win here in what should be an open and high-scoring two-legged affair.
Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid
Two sides who have been somewhat inconsistent in the competition this season, both have had positive results, such as Leverkusen beating Manchester City, but both have also stumbled in games they should have won.
Olympiacos v Bayer Leverkusen
This should be a cracker between a Bodo/Glimt team that landed two outstanding wins to earn a spot in the playoffs and an Inter Milan side who fell out of the seeded spots and who finished as runners up in the competition last season.
Bodo/Glimt v Inter Milan
The Playoff round 1st legs will be an intriguing set of games. Earning a guaranteed spot in the Round of 16 is not possible, but teams can go a long way towards making the second leg a much easier prospect with a good result here.
The bet365 Champions League Big Ticket Giveaway 2025/26 gives football fans the chance to win pairs of tickets to some of the biggest matches in this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Open to eligible UK customers with a bet365 account, the promotion is completely free to enter and runs throughout the tournament from the group stage right through to the semi-finals.
Each fixture is treated as a separate draw, meaning players can select the match they’d like to attend and submit an entry before the deadline.
Winners are chosen at random and notified shortly after each draw, with tickets available for all ties apart from the final, which is run as a separate competition.
As an Official Global Partner of the UEFA Champions League, bet365 is giving fans an unrivalled opportunity to experience Europe’s premier club football competition live from the stands, making the bet365 UCL Big Ticket Giveaway one of the standout promotions of the 2025/26 season.
Significant Terms and Conditions – TERMS AND CONDITIONS correct at time of publication and are subject to change. Please check bet365 for the latest T&C, odds and prices.
The giveaway for each match fixture will be a separate promotion subject to these terms and conditions. Please check the opening and closing dates for each fixture giveaway, below.
For Full Terms and Conditions of this offer click on the link.
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