The league‑phase draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is scheduled for Thursday in Monaco, kicking off at 5:00 p.m. UK time.
Below is a comprehensive guide covering everything you need to know before the event begins. A total of thirty‑six clubs will enter the competition at this stage.
Twenty‑nine of those have already secured their places by the close of the previous season, while the remaining seven spots will be filled by teams emerging from the qualifying rounds. The tournament is now in its third year under the revamped format introduced a few seasons ago. Under this system each club will face eight different opponents during the league phase – two clubs drawn from each of the four pots (Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4). Half of those eight matches are played at the club’s home stadium, the other half away.
The draw itself is performed by a sophisticated computer algorithm. Once the operator presses a single button, the program automatically selects the eight opponents for every club, ensuring that all the stipulated constraints are respected.
While the four qualifying‑round places are still pending, the other thirty‑two participants have already been confirmed. The allocation of clubs to the four pots is based on UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, which take into account each team’s performance in European competitions over the five‑year period ending with the 2025/26 season.
Among the clubs placed in Pot 1 are the back‑to‑back champions Paris Saint‑Germain, alongside Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Pot 2 contains Manchester United and the Europa League winners Aston Villa, both of which are making a return to the Champions League after a brief absence.
New UEFA regulations prohibit a club from being paired with the same league‑phase opponent for three consecutive seasons. This rule directly affects Liverpool, which has faced Real Madrid at Anfield in the two previous campaigns – winning 2‑0 in November 2024 and 1‑0 a year later. Consequently, Liverpool cannot be drawn to host Real Madrid again this season, although an away fixture against the Spanish giants remains possible.
In addition, Liverpool is barred from being paired with any other English side during the league phase. Since Pot 1 also contains Arsenal and Manchester City, Liverpool is guaranteed to meet at least one of the following clubs at home: Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. A similar situation applies to Arsenal.
The Gunners have played Inter Milan at the San Siro in each of the last two league‑phase campaigns – losing 1‑0 in November 2024 before turning the tables with a 3‑1 victory in January 2025. Therefore Arsenal will certainly be drawn against either Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid for an away game, while an at‑home clash with Inter remains permissible. The competition’s structure rewards the top eight finishers in the league‑phase table with automatic qualification for the round of 16.
Clubs finishing 25th or lower are eliminated outright and do not drop into the Europa League. Those placed between ninth and 24th enter a two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑off. The eight teams finishing ninth‑to‑16th are seeded and will face an unseeded opponent (positions 17‑24) with the second leg hosted at home.
The eight winners of these play‑offs then join the eight seeded clubs in the round of 16. From that point onward the tournament proceeds through the quarter‑finals, semi‑finals and the final, all contested over two legs except the final itself. 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 2027, to be staged at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain. Beyond the core competition, UEFA continues to promote fan engagement initiatives. One such promotion is the “Super 6” contest, offering participants a chance to win a £1 million prize by entering for free. In summary, the Thursday draw will determine each club’s eight league‑phase opponents, balancing home and away fixtures while respecting a set of rules designed to ensure variety and fairness.
The season will then unfold across a series of matchdays spanning from early September through late January, followed by a knockout phase that culminates in a grand final in Madrid in early June.