Key Takeaways:
- The Europa League playoff draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon established eight pairings involving sixteen teams
- The seeded clubs will play away on 19 February before hosting the return legs on 26 February
- Ludogorets and Ferencváros are set to meet once again, while Fenerbahçe will take on Nottingham Forest
Draw Outcomes and Fixture Schedule
The Europa League playoff round draw, conducted at UEFA’s Nyon headquarters, has finalised the matchups that will decide the final eight participants in the round of 16. Sixteen teams, who finished between ninth and twenty-fourth place in the main league phase, learned their fate as the draw mapped out their respective paths. The top eight teams from the league phase have already secured direct passage to the round of 16, with these playoffs determining their opponents.
Road to Istanbul 🇹🇷🏆#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/dteN9BAQwT
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) January 30, 2026
The two-legged playoff ties will take place on 19 February (first legs) and 26 February (second legs). According to the draw procedures, the seeded teams have the advantage of playing the first leg away from home, before returning for the decisive second leg under their own floodlights seven days later.
Full List of Europa League Playoff Pairings
| Fixture List |
|---|
| Brann vs Bologna |
| Dinamo Zagreb vs Genk (Belgium) |
| Ludogorets vs Ferencváros |
| Celtic vs Stuttgart |
| Panathinaikos vs Viktoria Plzeň |
| Fenerbahçe vs Nottingham Forest |
| PAOK vs Celta (Spain) |
| Lille vs Crvena Zvezda |
Seeding and Team Breakdown
The participating sixteen teams were placed into two pots based on their final league phase rank. The seeded teams – those finishing between ninth and sixteenth place – are Genk (Belgium), Bologna (Italy), Stuttgart (Germany), Ferencváros (Hungary), Nottingham Forest (England), Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), Crvena Zvezda (Serbia), and Celta Vigo (Spain).
The unseeded clubs, who ended the main phase between seventeenth and twenty-fourth position, are: PAOK (Greece), Lille (France), Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Panathinaikos (Greece), Celtic (Scotland), Ludogorets (Bulgaria), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), and Brann (Norway).
Notable Playoff Ties
The standout tie for many is the clash between Turkish side Fenerbahçe and English club Nottingham Forest, with both teams aiming to secure their place in the knockout phase. Elsewhere, top-seeded Genk must navigate a tricky trip to Dinamo Zagreb, and Bologna will face the cold conditions away at Brann.
