UEFA Champions League: 36 Clubs Discover League-phase Opponents In Monaco
The road to European football’s biggest prize enters a new phase on Thursday, August 27, as 36 clubs discover their opponents in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league-phase draw in Monaco.
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will be among the leading sides in the draw, alongside European heavyweights including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
The new-look competition will see each club play eight league-phase matches against eight different opponents, with every team facing two clubs from each of the four pots. Each side will have four home and four away fixtures.
Rather than a traditional group-stage draw, a computerised system will determine each club’s eight opponents while ensuring that all competition rules are respected.
Pot 1 includes Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Pot 2 features Aston Villa, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Porto, Club Brugge, PSV Eindhoven and Real Betis.
Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray are among the clubs in Pot 3.
The remaining places in Pots 3 and 4 will be settled after the qualifying rounds. The clubs involved include Bodo/Glimt, LASK Linz, Sabah, Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Como and Lens, as well as the winners of Fenerbahce v Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb v Viking, Slovan Bratislava v Celje and Levski Sofia v AEK Athens.
The top eight clubs in the league-phase table will advance automatically to the round of 16.
Those finishing ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged knockout play-off, while teams finishing 25th or lower will be eliminated from European competition.
The clubs finishing ninth to 16th will be seeded and drawn against teams placed 17th to 24th, with the seeded sides playing the second leg at home.
The eight play-off winners will then join the top eight teams in the round of 16.
The first of the eight league-phase matchdays is scheduled for September 8-10, with the competition continuing through the autumn and winter before the knockout stages begin.
With Europe’s biggest clubs once again assembled, the question is now being asked: which of your favourite teams will win the Champions League this season?
Will the defending champions retain their crown, or will one of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona or another European giant reclaim the trophy?