Champions League Play-off Draw Results: Potential Armenian Clashes

On August 4, the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 play-off round draw took place in Nyon, Switzerland. This round will determine all the participants of the group stage.

The draw has set up several potentially exciting matchups involving Armenian national team players.

Tigran Barseghyan, playing for Slovak club Slovan, could once again face Scottish side Celtic. The Armenian midfielder has previously played against the Glasgow team in European competitions, and fate may bring them together again.

Edgar Sevikyan and his club Ferencváros, if they beat Bulgarian side Ludogorets, will host the winner of the Qarabag – Shkëndija tie. That could mean a home match for the Armenian against the Azerbaijani giants in Budapest.

Nair Tiknizyan, who plays for Red Star Belgrade, could face the winner of Dynamo Kyiv vs Pafos if his team advances from the third round. The Armenian defender may thus play against one of the strongest Ukrainian clubs.

Full play-off round pairings:

Champions Path:

• Ferencváros (Hungary) / Ludogorets (Bulgaria) vs Qarabag (Azerbaijan) / Shkëndija (North Macedonia)

• Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) / Lech (Poland) vs Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) / Pafos (Cyprus)

• Bodø/Glimt (Norway) vs Sturm (Austria)

• Celtic (Scotland) vs Slovan (Slovakia) / Kairat (Kazakhstan)

• Basel (Switzerland) vs Copenhagen (Denmark) / Malmö (Sweden)

League Path:

• Feyenoord (Netherlands) / Fenerbahçe (Turkey) vs Benfica (Portugal) / Nice (France)

• Rangers (Scotland) / Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic) vs Club Brugge (Belgium) / Salzburg (Austria)

The first legs are scheduled for August 19–20, and the return legs for August 26–27.