Champions League qualifying play-off round: Key matches and talking points
By Joel Masibo, August 18, 2026The race for the remaining places in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase reaches its decisive stage this week, with 14 clubs preparing to battle across the play-off round.
Seven two-legged ties will determine which teams secure passage into Europe’s elite club competition, while the losing sides will drop into the UEFA Europa League league phase.
Play-off schedule
First legs
Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
GNK Dinamo vs Viking
Fenerbahçe vs Lyon
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah
Celtic vs LASK
Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
N.E.C. vs Bodø/Glimt
Second legs
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Sabah vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva
LASK vs Celtic
Bodø/Glimt vs N.E.C.
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
AEK Athens vs Levski Sofia
Viking vs GNK Dinamo
Celje vs Slovan Bratislava
Lyon vs Fenerbahçe
Unless otherwise indicated, matches are scheduled to begin at 21:00 pm CET.
Fenerbahçe vs Lyon
Fenerbahçe and Lyon are both desperate to return to the Champions League league phase, having last achieved that feat in 2008 and 2019 respectively.
The two clubs have already faced each other four times in the Champions League during the 2000s, with Lyon emerging victorious on every occasion. Their latest encounter came in the Europa League in January 2025, when they played out a goalless draw.
Fenerbahçe booked their play-off place after eliminating Górnik Zabrze and Sturm Graz. Lyon, meanwhile, entered during the third qualifying round and recovered from a first-leg loss to Sparta Praha to progress.
Lyon will also draw confidence from their previous Champions League campaign, when they reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual winners Bayern Munich.
Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
Levski Sofia are chasing their first Champions League league-phase appearance since 2006, but their recent record in European qualifying play-offs offers little comfort.
The Bulgarian outfit fell at the final qualifying hurdle in the UEFA Conference League in both 2023 and 2025.
AEK Athens arrive with considerably more recent European success. Under Marko Nikolić, they won the Greek championship and advanced to the Conference League quarter-finals last season before suffering a narrow aggregate defeat against eventual finalists Rayo Vallecano.
Levski were also beaten in last season’s Conference League play-offs, while AEK successfully negotiated their tie against Anderlecht.
GNK Dinamo vs Viking
Viking enter the tie after securing their first Norwegian championship in 34 years, edging out Bodø/Glimt in a memorable title race.
The Champions League encounter will carry special significance for Viking joint-coach Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim, who spent more than a decade with the club as a player after making his debut in 1994.
However, the Norwegian champions face a highly experienced GNK Dinamo side. The Croatian club are making their 21st consecutive European campaign and have considerable experience of high-level continental football.
Viking’s European record is a concern, though, as they have suffered defeat in each of their seven previous European Cup or Champions League ties.
Celtic vs LASK
Celtic enjoyed a remarkable turnaround after Martin O’Neill returned to the managerial position in January, ending the campaign with both the domestic league title and the cup.
However, reaching the Champions League through qualifying has proved difficult for the Scottish giants in recent years.
Celtic’s latest challenge comes against Austrian champions LASK, who are seeking their first appearance in the Champions League group stage or league phase.
LASK winger Miguel Freckleton could provide an interesting subplot. He was part of the St Mirren side that defeated Celtic in last season’s Scottish League Cup final.
Celtic have failed to negotiate Champions League qualifying in their last five attempts. Their previous play-off triumph came in 2017/18, when they defeated Astana 8-4 on aggregate.
N.E.C. vs Bodø/Glimt
Bodø/Glimt have emerged as one of European football’s most impressive underdog stories, regularly competing deep into continental tournaments despite operating outside Europe’s traditional elite.
They now face an N.E.C. side seeking to reach the Champions League league phase for the first time.
N.E.C. produced a major surprise in the previous round by eliminating Olympiacos and will hope players such as Dušan Tadić and Emre Mor can inspire another upset.
Bodø/Glimt, meanwhile, needed extra time and a fortunate goal to eliminate Union SG. Andreas Helmersen was involved in the decisive moment when the ball deflected off him and found its way into the net.
The Norwegian side can point to an impressive Champions League record from last season, recording victories over Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Inter and Sporting CP.
Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
Celje’s Benjamin Verbič has an especially personal reason to celebrate their run. The midfielder returned to his boyhood club this summer after spending 11 years away and scored the decisive goal that carried the Slovenian champions into the play-offs.
Celje have already secured at least a place in the Europa League league phase, but they will be targeting something bigger after two consecutive seasons in the Conference League.
Standing in their way are Slovan Bratislava, who defeated Celje 6-1 on aggregate two seasons ago.
Slovan can also rely on the experience of coach Yaya Touré, who was part of the Barcelona side that won the Champions League in 2009.
Slovan have a proud European history, having won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1969 after beating Barcelona 3-2 in the final.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva vs Sabah
History will be made in this tie because either Hapoel Beer-Sheva or Sabah are guaranteed to make their first appearance in the Champions League proper.
Sabah are the reigning champions of Azerbaijan and were established only nine years ago. The club from Masazir, near Baku, reached this stage after producing a stunning second-half comeback against Aarhus, scoring four unanswered goals.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva also impressed in the previous round, defeating former European champions Crvena Zvezda 3-0 on aggregate.
Igor Zlatanović, the Serbian striker who previously played for Partizan, was among their scorers and will be expected to play a major role again.
The opening match will be staged in Bucharest, Romania.
Sabah are also attempting to become just the second Azerbaijani club to reach the Champions League group stage or league phase, following Qarabağ’s achievements in 2017/18 and 2025/26.
How the play-off round works
A total of 14 clubs participate in this stage.
Ten come through the Champions Path, with four entering directly at this round and six arriving after winning their third qualifying-round ties. The remaining four teams come from the League Path after progressing through the previous qualifying round.
The seven winners over two legs will earn places in the Champions League league phase.
For the teams that are eliminated, their European campaigns will continue in the Europa League league phase.
With so much at stake, the play-off round promises a series of closely contested ties as clubs fight for entry into Europe’s premier club competition.