UEFA Champions League Last-16 knockout stage draw: When, how to watch, who could Manchester City face? | OneFootball

Manchester City, alongside Europe’s premier clubs, will find out their fate in the knockout stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League in the coming days.

Pep Guardiola’s side endured a mixed run of results in the league phase of this season’s competition, ultimately ending with the club securing a vital eighth-place finish in the 36-team format.

The campaign as a whole featured five victories across their eight matches, including a statement 1-2 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabéu and a 4–1 dismantling of Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium.

The early stages saw City begin with a 2–0 win over Napoli where Erling Haaland became the fastest player in history to reach 50 Champions League goals, followed by a 2–2 draw away at Monaco and a 0-2 home loss to Bayer Leverkusen to provide concern.

But City’s ability to grind out results in difficult away fixtures – including a 0-2 win against Villarreal – kept their top-eight ambitions on track as Haaland finished the league phase as the club’s top scorer with seven goals, trailing only Kylian Mbappé in the tournament.

The final weeks of the league phase provided a significant scare, however, as Manchester City suffered a shock 3–1 defeat to Bodø/Glimt in the Arctic Circle, leaving their top-eight status hanging by a thread going into the final matchday. Fortunately, the team regained composure through a decisive 2–0 victory over Galatasaray thanks to Haaland and Rayan Cherki, staying ahead of ninth-placed Real Madrid by a single point.

Now, ahead of the draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League last-16 knockout stage draw, here is everything you need to know!

Champions League knockout phase play-off first-leg results

Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus

Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid

AS Monaco 2-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta

Qarabag 1-6 Newcastle United

Bodo/Glimt 3-1 Inter

Club Brugge 3-3 Atletico Madrid

Olympiacos 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Champions League knockout phase play-off second-leg fixtures

Atletico Madrid (3) vs Club Brugge (3)

Bayer Leverkusen (2) vs Olympiacos (0)

Inter (1) vs Bodo/Glimt (3)

Newcastle (6) vs Qarabag (1)

Atalanta (0) vs Borussia Dortmund (2)

Juventus (2) vs Galatasaray (5)

Real Madrid (1) vs Benfica (0)

Paris Saint-Germain (3) vs AS Monaco (2)

When is the Champions League last-16 draw?

The top eight from the league phase of the UEFA Champions League will now face the eight winners of the knockout play-off ties in the last 16, with the draw for the last 16 scheduled to take place on February 27, 2026.

Furthermore, each team’s potential route to the 2026 UEFA Champions League final will also become clear as the quarter-final and semi-final paths will be revealed.

Who can Manchester City face in the last-16?

Following the positions in the UEFA Champions League’s league phase table, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side are due to face the winner of either Inter (1) vs Bodo/Glimt (3) or Real Madrid (1) vs Benfica (0).

Who has already been guaranteed a last-16 place?

Following their finish in the top eight of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase, the below list of teams are all guaranteed an automatic slot in the last-16 of Europe’s premier club competition:

When will the Champions League last-16 fixtures take place?

The first legs of the UEFA Champions League’s last-16 stage will be played on either March 10 or March 11, with the return fixtures a week later.

For Manchester City, that will mean that their first-leg European clash will come between their FA Cup fifth round meeting with Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium, and the visit to the London Stadium to take on West Ham in the Premier League.

As for the second-leg, that will come between the clash with the Hammers and the 2026 Carabao Cup Final meeting with Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.