German duel looms
These are FC Bayern’s possible opponents in the round of 16
Updated on 01/29/2026 – 07:24 amReading time: 2 minutes
After the final league matchday in the Champions League, the playoff constellations have now been determined. And with it FC Bayern’s possible opponents in the round of 16.
FC Bayern had already qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League in March before the last matchday of the league phase. After the 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven, the German record champions have now secured second place in the final table. Arsenal FC, who also defeated Munich 3-1 in London in November, were already confirmed as the winners of the preliminary round.
With second place, FC Bayern – just like Arsenal – have earned the right to play the second leg of all knockout rounds at home in front of their own fans. In addition, Munich could only meet Arsenal in the final at the earliest, who have not yet given up a single point in the entire competition and have won all of their games.
In the playoffs, in which the teams occupying places 9 to 24 in the table meet in February, the round of 16 opponents of the best eight teams seeded for the round of 32 will first be played.
Bayern’s opponent will be determined between places 15 to 18. These are occupied by Atalanta Bergamo, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Olympiakos Piraeus in the final table. All four teams are possible opponents of Munich in the round of 16. The two winners of the playoff duels will then be drawn to either Bayern or Arsenal.
Particularly explosive: There could be a German duel between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund in the playoff round for a place in the round of 16. The playoff pairings will also initially be drawn between the four teams mentioned on Friday. One thing is already clear: Both BVB and Leverkusen are threatened with another German-German duel against Bayern in a possible round of 16. The chances of this happening are 50:50.
From the quarter-finals onwards, the matches will be drawn completely openly between all 16 teams remaining in the competition.
