There are only six places left unclaimed in the 32-team group stage and six aggregate-goal playoff matchups that will decide them.

Every playoff series except for Dynamo Kyiv vs. Benfica is on a knife’s edge heading into the second legs on Aug. 23-24. Benfica won 2-0 on the road, while FC Copenhagen, Bodo/Glimt, and Maccabi Haifa have narrow one-goal leads heading into Leg 2. The heavyweight matchup between Rangers and PSV Eindhoven finished 2-2 after Leg 1.

As in the case of the previous edition of the Champions League, away goals will not be a tiebreaker at any point during the competition, including the playoffs. If teams are tied on aggregate goals after the second leg, then extra time and penalty kicks will be used to determine a winner.

Reaching the group stage would represent a massive boost to a team’s balance sheet, with teams receiving a guaranteed cash infusion, plus potential prize money from each of six group-stage matches. There’s also the worldwide brand exposure that the group stage brings: Teams reaching the group stage get the chance to face iconic global clubs such as Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, with millions of fans around the world tuning in to watch.

MORE: Champions League qualifier results and matchups so far

Champions League playoff draw, fixtures & schedule

The Champions League playoff round draw was held on August 2 in Nyon, Switzerland.

Six tickets to the lucrative group stage are on the line in the playoff round. Four of those will go to the winner of each of four aggregate-goal series involving domestic league champions (Champions Path), while two will be handed to the two winners of the League Path playoff matchups featuring teams that did not win their domestic league.

Only two clubs entered the competition for the first time during the playoff round: FC Copenhagen and Trabzonspor, champions of Denmark and Turkey respectively. The other teams were involved in the third round of qualifying and others got started even earlier during qualifying. The first team listed below hosted the first leg of each playoff series.

Champions Path

League Path

Teams in the Champions League playoff draw

When the draw was held on Aug. 2, the third-round qualifying matchups had not yet been decided. The draw was conducted nonetheless.

Champions Path

All the teams involved in the Champions Path earned their place in the competition by winning their domestic league title last season.

The six winners of the Champions League third round qualifiers were joined by two teams which entered the competition in the playoff round — Danish champions FC Copenhagen and Turkish champions Trabzonspor (teams that advanced in bold).

  • = Teams entering the competition in the playoff round

League Path

These matchups involve clubs which did not win their domestic title last season, but which hail from strong enough European leagues that they are given the chance to compete for two available spots in the Champions League group stage.

Here were the third-round matchups that were draw in the League Path (teams that advanced in bold):

How to watch the 2022/23 Champions League

How do Champions League qualifying & playoff rounds work in 2022/23?

Before the high-profile Champions League group stage, there are several qualifying rounds which culminate with the playoff round that ultimately hands out six tickets to the group stage.

Which teams are in which rounds?

The teams that participate in each round is predetermined based on their country’s UEFA coefficient ranking. That’s a mathematical formula that takes into account the finishing position of teams from that league in European competitions over the previous five years.

Teams from countries on the low end of these coefficient rankings (Ex. San Marino and Iceland) joined the early rounds and had the task of surviving a longer path to reach the group stage.

Which teams are seeded? 

There’s also a club coefficient ranking which is obviously different from the country coefficient rankings. The club coefficient formula is only used to determine which teams are seeded over the others in each round. 

As in the case of the playoff round draw, when advancing teams were not yet known because the previous round’s matchups had not concluded, the ranking of the highest-ranked clubs from each outstanding matchup determined the seed. 

League Path vs. Champions Path

One added wrinkle of the modern Champions League: Not every participating team qualifies by virtue of winning their domestic league title.

A handful of high-profile leagues also have spots reserved in the Champions League competition for teams that finish in second place or as low as fourth place (as in the case of the English Premier League).

The non-champions that are part of the qualifying rounds embark on the “League Path,” which is separate from the “Champions Path” which is reserved for league champions.

Champions League schedule 2022/23

Preliminary & qualifying rounds schedule

Group stage schedule

The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage will take place on August 25, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Knockout stage schedule

The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League Round of 16 will take place on November 7, 2022. 

The draw for the remaining rounds (quarterfinals and semifinals) of the 2022/23 Champions League knockout stage will take place on March 17, 2023.