Champions League play-off round concludes this week

The final seven matches of the Champions League play-off round are taking place on August 25 and 26, 2026, to determine the last teams qualifying for the tournament's League Phase. Tuesday's schedule features three games: Sabah against Hapoel Beer Sheva (first leg 1-2), LASK Linz against Celtic (first leg 0-3), and Bodo/Glimt against NEC Nijmegen (first leg 3-1). Celtic and Bodo/Glimt hold significant leads entering their respective fixtures.

Wednesday’s matches are expected to be more competitive, as all four initial encounters ended in draws. AEK Athens faces Levski Sofia following a 0-0 first leg, while Viking takes on Dinamo Zagreb (2-2), Lyon plays Fenerbahce (1-1), and Celje meets Slovan Bratislava (1-1). Upon qualification, AEK will be placed in the fourth pot for the League Phase. The official draw for the next stage of the competition is scheduled to take place on Thursday at 19:00, where each qualified team will be paired against eight different opponents.