When is Europa League play-off draw? Date, time, teams qualified and how to watch

The draw for the first knockout round in the 2025/26 Europa League is set to be made as the play-off qualifiers find out their fate.

A hectic league phase is nearing an end with those still in contention vying for places in both the top eight and middle 16.

Those select eight sides will progress directly to the round of 16, leaving the 16 below to face off in two-legged play-off ties to determine who progresses.

Of the 36 entrants into the league phase, as many as 28 teams are unsure of their fate entering the final round of fixtures ahead of Friday’s draw.

Here’s everything you need to know.

The 2025/26 Europa League knockout phase play-off draw starts at 12pm GMT on Friday 30 January, in Nyon, Switzerland.

The draw includes teams that finished ninth to 24th place in the league phase, with the top eight sides in the league phase qualifying automatically for the last 16.

The draw will be streamed live on Uefa’s website and the Europa League app, while Independent Sport will have a live blog with all the results from the draw and the latest reaction.

19 teams have made certain of their places in the round of 16 or knockout phase play-offs, with their positioning to be determined by the final round of fixtures on Thursday.

Ferencvaros, Freiburg, Midtjylland , Real Betis , Bologna , Braga , Celta Vigo, Crvena Zvezda, Fenerbahce, Genk, Nottingham Forest , Panathinaikos , PAOK , Porto , Roma , Stuttgart, Viktoria Plzen have all booked their places in the knockout phase.

Aston Villa and Lyon are assured of a spot in the round of 16 and will be joined directly by six other teams. Rangers , Sturm Graz , Nice , Utrecht , Malmo and Maccabi Tel-Aviv have been eliminated.

The clubs are paired together in relation to their league phase positions, forming four seeded pairs: positions 9 and 10, 11 and 12, 13 and 14, and 15 and 16. There will be four unseeded pairs: positions 17 and 18, 19 and 20, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24).

Clubs in each seeded pair will draw a tie against an unseeded pair: clubs 9 or 10 against clubs 23 or 24, clubs 11 or 12 against clubs 21 or 22, clubs 13 or 14 against clubs 19 or 20, and clubs 15 or 16 against clubs 17 or 18.

Teams from the same national association, or teams that have already met in the league phase, can all play against each other in the knockout phase play-offs.

Matches will take place over two legs, with the seeded team set to play the return leg at home.

First legs will be played on 19 February and second legs are slated to take place on 26 February.

The eight teams that advance from the knockout phase play-offs will be in the draw for the round of 16, along with those who directly qualified. That draw will take place on Friday 27 February.