What's next: BVB to face Atalanta or Leverkusen in the play-offs | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund, who finished 17th in the final table, are paired with Olympiacos (18th). They will face one of the 15th/16th pairing of Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen. BVB will have to play the second leg away from home.

UEFA writes:

The pairings for the play-offs of the knockout phase will be determined by a draw according to the following principles:

a) The clubs are divided into four seeded pairs (clubs in 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th, 13th and 14th, and 15th and 16th place) and four unseeded pairs (17th and 18th, 19th and 20th, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24).

b) The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into the knockout phase, where they compete against the clubs in each unseeded pair: clubs 9 or 10 against clubs 23 or 24, 11 or 12 against 21 or 22, 13 or 14 against 19 or 20, and 15 or 16 against 17 or 18.

It is also important to note that in the play-offs, matches between two clubs from the same national association are possible, as are matches against an opponent that have already been played in the league phase.

The teams ranked 9th to 16th will play the first leg away on 17 or 18 February 2026. The second legs will be played a week later, on 24/25 February. The draw for the round of 16 will take place on 27 February. (br)