Nottingham Forest and Celtic learn their playoff fate in Friday's draw.
Europa League knockout playoff draw result: Match schedule for teams bidding for Round of 16 place originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The final round of league-phase games in this season's Europa League took place on Thursday.
All 36 teams kicked off their matches at the same time in a frenetic battle to secure a place in the knockout rounds.
The top eight in the standings all qualify automatically for the Round of 16, while those teams in the 16 places below them must contest a playoff round to determine who else goes through.
The draw takes place today (Friday, January 30) at around 1 p.m. local time in Nyon, Switzerland (7 a.m. ET), after the Champions League draw has concluded.
MORE:All teams in this season's Round of 16 or knockout playoffs
Teams in Europa League knockout playoffs
The teams that finished from ninth to 24th place in the league phase enter the knockout-playoff round.
The first eight (ninth to 16th) are seeded and will play the second leg of their playoff at home.
Seeded teams
| Club | Nation |
| Genk | Belgium |
| Bologna | Italy |
| Stuttgart | Germany |
| Ferencvaros | Hungary |
| Nottingham Forest | England |
| Viktoria Plzen | Czechia |
| Red Star Belgrade | Serbia |
| Celta Vigo | Spain |
Unseeded teams
| Club | Nation |
| PAOK | Greece |
| Lille | France |
| Fenerbahce | Turkey |
| Panathinaikos | Greece |
| Celtic | Scotland |
| Ludogorets | Bulgaria |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Croatia |
| Brann | Norway |
How the draw for the knockout playoffs works
The Europa League, like the Champions League, has followed which follows what is known as the Swiss Model since 2024/25. In this format, the knockout-stage bracket is largely predetermined by final league-phase positions, although not entirely.
After Friday's playoffs draw, there will be another draw prior to the Round of 16 to set the entire rest of the bracket.
In both the knockout playoffs and the Round of 16, each qualifier has only two possible opponents against whom they can be drawn.
Possible opponents for every team in knockout playoffs
In the Europa League knockout playoffs, the top qualifiers from the league phase are drawn against the lowest-finishing qualifiers, and so on.
The matchups are as follows:
- 9th & 10th vs. 23rd & 24th
- 11th & 12th vs. 21st & 22nd
- 13th & 14th vs. 19th & 20th
- 15th & 16th vs. 17th & 18th
| League phase pos. | Possible opponents |
| 9th (Genk) | 23rd (Dinamo Zagreb) or 24th (Brann) |
| 10th (Bologna) | 23rd (Dinamo Zagreb) or 24th (Brann) |
| 11th (Stuttgart) | 21st (Celtic) or 22nd (Ludogorets) |
| 12th (Ferencvaros) | 21st (Celtic) or 22nd (Ludogorets) |
| 13th (Nottingham Forest) | 19th (Fenerbahce) or 20th (Panathinaikos) |
| 14th (Viktoria Plzen) | 19th (Fenerbahce) or 20th (Panathinaikos) |
| 15th (Red Star Belgrade) | 17th (PAOK) or 18th (Lille) |
| 16th (Celta Vigo) | 17th (PAOK) or 18th (Lille) |
| 17th (PAOK) | 15th (Red Star Belgrade) or 16th (Celta Vigo) |
| 18th (Lille) | 15th (Red Star Belgrade) or 16th (Celta Vigo) |
| 19th (Fenerbahce) | 13th (Nottingham Forest) or 14th (Viktoria Plzen) |
| 20th (Panathinaikos) | 13th (Nottingham Forest) or 14th (Viktoria Plzen) |
| 21st (Celtic) | 11th (Stuttgart) or 12th (Ferencvaros) |
| 22nd (Ludogorets) | 11th (Stuttgart) or 12th (Ferencvaros) |
| 23rd (Dinamo Zagreb) | 9th (Genk) or 10th (Bologna) |
| 24th (Brann) | 9th (Genk) or 10th (Bologna) |
Europa League knockout playoff draw result
This section will be updated once the draw is completed on Friday.
Seeded teams in bold.
| Genk vs. Dinamo Zagreb or Brann | |
| Bologna vs. Dinamo Zagreb or Brann | |
| Stuttgart vs. Celtic or Ludogorets | |
| Ferencvaros vs. Celtic or Ludogorets | |
| Nottingham Forest vs. Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos | |
| Viktoria Plzen vs. Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos | |
| Red Star Belgrade vs. PAOK or Lille | |
| Celta Vigo vs. PAOK or Lille |
When are the Europa League knockout playoffs?
The first legs of the playoff matches will take place on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The return legs are a week later on Thursday, February 26.
Seeded teams will be home for the second leg, while unseeded teams will host the first leg.
Category: General Sports
