Champions League Matchday 8 – What is at stake?
Matchday 7 of the 2025/26 Champions League is in the bag which leaves just one set of matches to be played in the league stage. However, Matchday 8 has plenty at stake, with 32 of the 36 teams still in with a chance of reaching either the Round of 16 as one of the top eight seeds, or earning a place in the eight Round of 16 playoff matches for the teams finishing ninth to 24th.
So after Matchday 7 how do things stand? Here is what is decided, or to be decided, in the 16 Champions League Matchday 8 games this week.
Already Qualified as a Seeded Team in the Round of 16
- Arsenal
- Bayern Munich
The Gunners and Bayern Munich are already assured of a seeded spot in the Round of 16 and Arsenal have a chance to finish their campaign with eight successive wins in the league stage.
Assured of a Playoff Spot, but Could Finish as One of Top Eight Seeds
- Real Madrid
- Liverpool
- Tottenham
- Paris St. Germain
- Newcastle United
- Chelsea
- Barcelona
- Sporting Lisbon
- Manchester City
- Atletico Madrid
- Atalanta
- Inter
- Juventus
Real, Liverpool, Spurs, PSG, Newcastle and Chelsea occupy the eight seeded spots in the table currently, but could be caught by any of the teams listed below them in the list depending on results on Matchday 8.
All the teams listed here are at least assured of a playoff spot.
Assured of a Playoff Spot only.
No teams are assured of a playoff spot only as yet.
In With a Chance of a Playoff Spot by finishing in the Top 24.
- Borussia Dortmund
- Galatasaray
- Qarabag
- Marseille
- Bayer Leverkusen
- AS Monaco
- PSV Eindhoven
- Athletic Club
- Olympiacos
- Napoli
- Copenhagen
- Club Brugge
- Bodo/Glimt
- Benfica
- Pafos
- Union Saint-Gilloise
- Ajax
The teams ranked 16th (Dortmund) to 32nd (Ajax) are all in contention for a place in the playoffs. Who qualifies will depend very much on each teams opposition and how the results pan out on the final Match Day.
Eliminated From The Competition
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Slavia Prague
- Villarreal
- Kairat Almaty
Only the four teams listed above have been eliminated from contention of reaching the playoffs. The highest any of them could finish is 27th.
Matchday 8 Games
All Matchday 8 games take place simultaneously at 8pm on Wednesday 28th January. The full list of the 16 fixtures are as follows:
- Athletic Bilbao v Sporting Lisbon
- Barcelona v Copenhagen
- Liverpool v Qarabag
- AS Monaco v Juventus
- Ajax v Olympiakos
- Paris St Germain v Newcastle United
- Borussia Dortmund v Inter
- Napoli v Chelsea
- Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham
- Atletico Madrid v Bodo/Glimt
- Bayer Leverkusen v Villarreal
- Arsenal v Kairat Almaty
- FC Pafos v Slavia Prague
- Manchester City v Galatasaray
- Club Brugge v Marseille
- Benfica v Real Madrid
There are so many permutations possible in these games and these will change as goals go in across all the game taking place on Matchday 8 which means we won’t be short of drama when the games kick off on Wednesday night!
