Champions League 26/27 draw, dates, schedule, format and who has qualified from Premier League and around Europe
The league phase draw for the 2026/27 Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco and here is everything you need to know before it gets started.
A total of 36 teams will enter the competition at this stage after 29 qualified at the end of last season. The remaining seven places are determined by the qualifiers.
In the new format, which is entering its third season since being implemented, teams now play fixtures against eight different teams - two teams from Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Half of the eight league-phase matches are at home, with the other half away.
The draw is done by a supercomputer, which automatically selects the eight opponents by one touch of a button.
While four places via qualifiers are yet to be determined, 32 teams have been confirmed.
The pots are allocated based on UEFA's club coefficient rankings, which reflects results in European competitions across a five-year period ending in 2025/26.
Transfer Latest: Ayyoub Bouaddi speaks for the first time after record-breaking £86m move to City
Ipswich transfers, latest news, rumours and gossip: Live updates, goals and highlights
Wingers? Strikers? Midfielders? The players Premier League clubs are looking for
Ayyoub Bouaddi transfer: Manchester City complete record-breaking £86m deal to sign 18-year-old Morocco midfielder
Enzo Fernandez transfer news: Man City considering bid for Chelsea midfielder
Transfer news: Summer transfer window 2026 - Scottish Premiership deals, ins and outs
Back-to-back champions Paris Saint-Germain are in Pot 1 along with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Manchester United and Europa League winners Aston Villa, two clubs making their return to Europe's elite competition, have been placed in Pot 2.
Pot 1
PSG
Bayern Munich
Real Madrid
Liverpool
Inter Milan
Manchester City
Arsenal
Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
Pot 2
Aston Villa
Manchester United
Borussia Dortmund
Roma
Sporting
Porto
Club Brugge
PSV Eindhoven
Real Betis
Pot 3
Feyenoord
Lille
Napoli
RB Leipzig
Villarreal
Shakhtar Donetsk
Galatasaray
Pot 3 or 4 - to be decided
Bodo/Glimt
LASK Linz
Sabah
Slavia Prague
Stuttgart
Como
Lens
Winner of Fenerbahce vs Lyon
Winner of Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking
Winner of Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
Winner of Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
Liverpool cannot be paired at home to Real Madrid in Thursday's Champions League draw due to new rules in the competition.
New UEFA regulations state that a team cannot play the same individual league phase fixture for three seasons in a row.
Liverpool have played Real Madrid at Anfield in each of the last two league phase campaigns. The Reds won 2-0 in November 2024 before beating Los Blancos 1-0 12 months later.
Liverpool can, however, be drawn against Real Madrid away on Thursday.
In Thursday's draw, each Champions League team will be paired with two teams from Pots 1 to 4 to make up their eight European league phase matches. Four are played at home and four are played away.
Liverpool also cannot be drawn against English teams in the league phase and as well as Real Madrid, there are two Premier League teams in Pot 1 - Arsenal and Man City.
That means Liverpool will definitely play one of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid at Anfield in this season's league phase.
The same applies for Arsenal, who have faced Inter Milan away at the San Siro for each of the last two league phase campaigns.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to Inter in November 2024, before beating the Nerazzurri 3-1 in January of this year.
It means Arsenal will definitely be drawn against one of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid away from home in Thursday's draw.
And just like Liverpool with Real Madrid, they can also be drawn against Inter at home.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while teams finishing 25th or lower are eliminated and do not drop into the Europa League.
The teams finishing in ninth to 24th place compete in a two-legged knockout-phase play-off. Teams finishing between ninth and 16th are seeded, meaning they will face a team in 17th-24th with the return leg at home.
The eight clubs who win their knockout-phase play-off each meet one of the seeded top-eight finishers in the league-phase table for a place in the quarter-finals.
Matchday 1: September 8-10Matchday 2: October 13/14Matchday 3: October 20/21Matchday 4: November 3/4Matchday 5: November 24/25Matchday 6: December 8/9Matchday 7: January 19/20Matchday 8: January 27
The draw for the two-legged knockout-phase play-offs is yet to be determined.
Knockout phase play-offs: February 16/17 and 23/24Round of 16: March 9/10 and 16/17Quarter-finals: April 6/7 and 13/14Semi-finals: April 27/28 and May 4/5Final: June 5
The final will take place at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on June 5 2027.
Play Super 6 for a chance to win £1m! Enter for free.
Play Super 6 for a chance to win £1m! Enter for free.
- Last
News by day
26 of August 2026
