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Europa League knockout playoff match schedule, results for teams bidding for Round of 16 place originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The final round of league-phase games in this season's Europa League took place on Thursday, January 29.
All 36 teams kicked off their matches at the same time in a frenetic battle to secure a place in the knockout rounds.
The top eight in the standings all qualified automatically for the Round of 16, while those teams in the 16 places below them contest a playoff round to determine who else goes through.
On Thursday this week, the second legs of those matchups will take place to determine the final representatives in Friday's knockout-phase draw.
MORE:All teams in this season's Round of 16 or knockout playoffs
Europa League knockout playoff match schedule, results
This section will be updated once the draw is completed on Friday.
Seeded teams played the first leg away.
1st legs
| Date | Match |
| February 19 | PAOK 1-2 Celta Vigo |
| February 19 | Brann 0-1 Bologna |
| February 19 | Dinamo Zagreb 1-3 Genk |
| February 19 | Fenerbahce 0-3 Nottingham Forest |
| February 19 | Ludogorets 2-1 Ferencvaros |
| February 19 | Lille 0-1 Red Star Belgrade |
| February 19 | Celtic 1-4 Stuttgart |
| February 19 | Panathinaikos 2-2 Viktoria Plzen |
2nd legs
| Date | Time (ET) | Match |
| February 26 | 12:45 p.m. | Red Star Belgrade (1) 0-2 (0) Lille |
| February 26 | 12:45 p.m. | Viktoria Plzen (2) 1-1 (2) Panathinaikos Panathinaikos adv. 4-3 on penalties |
| February 26 | 12:45 p.m. | Ferencvaros (1) 2-0 (2) Ludogorets |
| February 26 | 12:45 p.m. | Stuttgart (4) 0-1 (1) Celtic |
| February 26 | 3 p.m. | Celta Vigo (2) vs. (1) PAOK |
| February 26 | 3 p.m. | Genk (3) vs. (1) Dinamo Zagreb |
| February 26 | 3 p.m. | Nottingham Forest (3) vs. (0) Fenerbahce |
| February 26 | 3 p.m. | Bologna (1) vs. (0) Brann |
When are the Europa League knockout playoffs?
The first legs of the playoff matches will take place on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The return legs are a week later on Thursday, February 26.
Seeded teams will be home for the second leg, while unseeded teams will host the first leg.
Teams in Europa League knockout playoffs
The teams that finished from ninth to 24th place in the league phase enter the knockout-playoff round.
The first eight (ninth to 16th) are seeded and will play the second leg of their playoff at home.
Seeded teams
| Club | Nation |
| Genk | Belgium |
| Bologna | Italy |
| Stuttgart | Germany |
| Ferencvaros | Hungary |
| Nottingham Forest | England |
| Viktoria Plzen | Czechia |
| Red Star Belgrade | Serbia |
| Celta Vigo | Spain |
Unseeded teams
| Club | Nation |
| PAOK | Greece |
| Lille | France |
| Fenerbahce | Turkey |
| Panathinaikos | Greece |
| Celtic | Scotland |
| Ludogorets | Bulgaria |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Croatia |
| Brann | Norway |
How the draw for the knockout playoffs works
The Europa League, like the Champions League, has followed which follows what is known as the Swiss Model since 2024/25. In this format, the knockout-stage bracket is largely predetermined by final league-phase positions, although not entirely.
After Friday's playoffs draw, there will be another draw prior to the Round of 16 to set the entire rest of the bracket.
In both the knockout playoffs and the Round of 16, each qualifier has only two possible opponents against whom they can be drawn.
Possible opponents for every team in knockout playoffs
In the Europa League knockout playoffs, the top qualifiers from the league phase are drawn against the lowest-finishing qualifiers, and so on.