The Position of Clubs Participating in the Champions League on Qualification to the Round of 16

The clubs of the 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League are preparing for the decisive round in the league stage, which will determine the fate of those qualifying for the knockout stages. This season comes after the implementation of the new system that began last season, where the number of participating teams increased to 36 instead of 32, with each team playing eight matches in the league stage, four at home and four away, instead of the previous group system.

The teams that occupy the top eight positions qualify directly to the Round of 16, while those in positions nine through twenty-four compete in a playoff system, home and away, to determine eight additional teams to advance to the Round of 16, while the last eight teams exit the tournament.

After the end of the seventh round and before the final round, the positions of the 36 participating clubs in the league stage are divided into four categories:

1- Clubs directly qualified for the Round of 16:

Arsenal – Bayern Munich.

2- Clubs that can qualify directly or through the playoffs:

Real Madrid – Liverpool – Tottenham – Paris Saint-Germain – Newcastle United – Chelsea – Barcelona – Sporting Lisbon – Manchester City – Atletico Madrid – Atalanta – Juventus – Inter Milan – Borussia Dortmund – Galatasaray – Qarabag.

3- Clubs that can only qualify through the playoffs:

Marseille – Bayer Leverkusen – Monaco – Eindhoven – Athletic Bilbao – Olympiacos – Napoli – Copenhagen – Club Brugge – Bodo/Glimt – Benfica – Pafos – Union Saint-Gilloise – Ajax.

4- Clubs that have exited the tournament:

Eintracht Frankfurt – Slavia Prague – Villarreal – Kairat.