UEFA Champions League Play-off 2nd Leg: Teams In Action, What To Expect, And More – All You Need To Know

The UEFA Champions League 2025-26 will have four more teams moving to the Round of 16 after the knockout phase play-off second leg fixtures on Wednesday night. Benfica’s visit to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on Real Madrid will be the headline fixture, with the racism row between Vinicius Junior and Gianluca Prestianni dominating headlines.

Vinicius, who scored the only goal of the first leg in Lisbon, was involved in a heated confrontation with Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni. Vinicius later accused Prestianni of calling him a “monkey”, which the Argentine attacker denied.

This led to UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body handing Prestianni a provisional one-match suspension, with Benfica’s appeal against it also being rejected on Wednesday.

UEFA Champions League Play-off 2nd Leg: Teams In Action

Aside from Real Madrid hosting Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu, three other matches are scheduled for Wednesday. Juventus host Galatasaray at the Allianz Stadium, with the Turkish visitors holding a 5-2 lead on aggregate. Atalanta, the second Italian team in action, welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Stadio di Bergamo, trailing 2-0 on aggregate.

There’s an all-French encounter lined up between Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes. PSG came from two goals down to win the first leg away 3-2, and the league leaders will be favourites against the Principality side.

UEFA Champions League Play-off 2nd Leg: What To Expect

Real Madrid’s match against Benfica is sure to be an emotionally charged one following the accusations of racism from Vinicius Junior and Benfica’s counter-accusation of a “defamation campaign” against Prestianni.

Prestianni has already been suspended by UEFA, while Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho will also miss the match after seeing a red card in the first leg. Madrid will also be depleted with injuries, with Kylian Mbappe the biggest name ruled out with a knee injury. Dean Huijsen might also miss out due to a calf problem.

Meanwhile, the two Serie A sides – Juventus and Atalanta – go into the second leg trailing by multiple goals on the aggregate. Following Napoli’s failure to progress from the group stage and Inter Milan’s shock exit against Bodo/Glimt, Italian football faces the prospect of having no teams in the Champions League Round of 16 for the first time since its reintroduction in 2003-04.

PSG, who won last season’s Champions League despite dropping down to the knockout phase, will be hoping that history repeats itself when they host Monaco. The visitors are eighth in the Ligue 1 table, although they are unbeaten in their last five league matches.

However, the Parisian side will be without some key players. Ousmane Dembele’s participation remains a doubt after the Ballon d’Or winner picked up a calf knock during the first leg. Midfielders Fabian Ruiz, Senny Mayulu, and Quentin Ndjantou are all ruled out with injuries.

Achraf Hakimi, who will stand trial for rape in France, has been included in the matchday squad and will likely start for the home side.