UEFA Champions League: Playoff Action This Week
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Layla Nour
- . August 27, 2025
- . Update: August 28, 2025 1:15 pm
The playoff round of the UEFA Champions League is happening this week, which determines the last places in the first-ever “league phase.” The result-defining second-legged matches are happening today, Wednesday, August 27, 2025, and the outcome will determine the last teams that will compete in the tournament.
Recent Matches (Playoffs, Second Leg — Today)
Kairat Almaty vs. Celtic: Kairat shocked Celtic with a stunning ll-10 penaltyshoot-outt win after two scoreless matches, taking their first-ever place in the group stages.
Bodø/Glimt vs. Sturm Graz: Norway has Bodø/Glimt advancing 6–2 on aggregate, with a loss in the second leg – they had scored so many goals in the first leg.
Pafos vs. Red Star Belgrade: This was also a tight tie for Pafos, who progressed due to an aggregate win (albeit the last goal was a late equalizer in stoppage time).
Club Brugge vs. Rangers: The second leg of this tie occurs today, and Rangers will be, at minimum, hoping to overcome a 3–1 aggregate deficit.
What Happens Next?
The UEFA Champions League phase draw will take place at 5 pm UK time on (now) Friday, August 28, 2025, in Monaco. During the draw, eight additional matchups will be drawn as part of the new format, which allows 36 teams to play in a ‘Swiss-style’ league phase with 8 matches against different opponents.
Current ‘Standings’- Playoff Information
At this point, there is no traditional points table since playoffs are elimination-based, but here is how it looks now:
Qualified for League Phase: Kairat Almaty, Bodø/Glimt, Pafos.
Today, with a decision to be made: Club Brugge vs. Rangers — Including Rangers trailing in aggregate.
When the league phase starts around mid-September 2025, standings will be reset into a new single-table format.
Where to Watch – Arab World Broadcasting Details
The broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League in the Arab territories are generally distributed among major providers, including beIN Sports and Shahid. While the detailed ‘Arab Posts” link was not seen in the sources, the following sites were seen as truthful options.
beIN Sports (MENA) – This is the main broadcaster for LIVE matches and the draw for the Middle East and North Africa.
Shahid – Shahid is the on-demand streaming service available from the MBC group, and regularly offers match highlights and replays.
UEFA.com – UEFA.com provides FREE Live streaming of the draw and a range of programming.
Check your local providers (beIN or Shahid) around Thursday for the draw – the crowds tuning in will find out which teams make the league phase.
Summary
This Week (Aug 27–31): We’ve got playoff second-leg action that will crown the final teams – Kairat, Bodø/Glimt, and Pafos are already qualified; Rangers are still alive against Club Brugge.
Draw: Thursday, August 28, at 5 pm UK time in Monaco.
Where to watch: beIN Sports and Shahid in the Arab world; UEFA.com for a stream of the draw.
