The draw for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is set to take place on Thursday in Monaco, and fans will want to understand every detail before the event kicks off. A total of 36 clubs will enter this stage of the competition: 29 have already secured their places based on last season's results, while the remaining seven spots will be filled by teams that emerge from the qualifying rounds.
This season marks the third year of the new league‑phase format that UEFA introduced, a system that sees each club facing eight different opponents – two clubs drawn from each of the four seeding pots (Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4). The schedule is balanced so that half of those eight matches are played on home soil and the other half away, giving each side an equal number of fixtures in front of their own supporters and on foreign turf. The actual draw is conducted by a sophisticated computer algorithm.
Once the officials press a single button, the program automatically pairs each team with its eight opponents, ensuring that all the competition’s intricate rules are respected. At the moment, 32 of the 36 participants have already been confirmed, while four places are still pending the outcome of the qualifying ties.
Seeding is determined by UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, which take into account each club’s performance in European competitions over the five‑year period ending with the 2025/26 season. These coefficients are used to allocate clubs to the four pots, with the highest‑ranked teams placed in Pot 1, the next set in Pot 2, and so on. Pot 1 this year is packed with the continent’s traditional powerhouses: Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Manchester United and the Europa League champions Aston Villa – both returning to the Champions League after a brief absence – have been slotted into Pot 2. The composition of Pots 3 and 4 will be completed once the winners of the remaining qualifying ties are known, including the match‑ups between Fenerbahçe and Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb and Viking, Slovan Bratislava and Celje, and Levski Sofia and AEK Athens.
UEFA’s updated regulations also introduce a safeguard to prevent teams from meeting the same opponent in the league phase for three consecutive seasons. Because Liverpool have faced Real Madrid at Anfield in both of the last two campaigns (winning 2‑0 in November 2024 and 1‑0 a year later), they cannot be drawn to host Real Madrid again this Thursday.
However, the draw may still pair Liverpool with Real Madrid for an away fixture. Another restriction applies to English clubs: Liverpool cannot be drawn against another English side during the league phase.
Since Pot 1 also contains Arsenal and Manchester City, Liverpool’s eight opponents will inevitably include at least one of the other elite clubs – Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid – when they play at Anfield. The same logic holds for Arsenal. The Gunners have met Inter Milan away at the San Siro in each of the past two league‑phase campaigns (a 1‑0 defeat in November 2024 followed by a 3‑1 victory in January 2025).
Consequently, Arsenal will be paired with one of the other Pot 1 teams – Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid – for an away match in the upcoming draw, while a home fixture against Inter remains possible. Once the league‑phase schedule is set, the competition will progress to the knockout stage. The top eight teams in the league‑phase table will automatically qualify for the round of 16.
Teams finishing 25th or lower are eliminated outright and do not drop into the Europa League. The clubs placed from ninth to 24th will enter a two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑off. Within this group, the clubs finishing ninth to 16th are seeded and will face an unseeded opponent (positions 17‑24) with the second leg at home, giving them a slight advantage.
The eight winners of these play‑offs will join the pre‑qualified top‑eight clubs in the round of 16. From there, the competition follows the traditional two‑legged format through the quarter‑finals and semi‑finals, culminating in a single‑match final.
Key dates for the league‑phase matches are as follows: - Matchday 1: 8‑10 September - Matchday 2: 13‑14 October - Matchday 3: 20‑21 October - Matchday 4: 3‑4 November - Matchday 5: 24‑25 November - Matchday 6: 8‑9 December - Matchday 7: 19‑20 January - Matchday 8: 27 January The draw for the two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑offs has yet to be scheduled. The subsequent knockout‑phase calendar is: - Play‑offs: 16‑17 February and 23‑24 February - Round of 16: 9‑10 March and 16‑17 March - Quarter‑finals: 6‑7 April and 13‑14 April - Semi‑finals: 27‑28 April and 4‑5 May - Final: 5 June The grand finale will be staged at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on 5 June 2027.
Fans worldwide will be watching to see which club lifts the coveted trophy after a season of intense competition and strategic planning. For those looking for extra excitement, UEFA is also promoting the Super 6 competition, offering a chance to win £1 million with a free entry. This side‑bet adds an additional layer of engagement for supporters eager to test their luck while following the Champions League drama.