The league‑phase draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is scheduled for Thursday in Monaco, kicking off at 5 p.m. UK time. Below is a comprehensive guide covering everything you need to know before the ceremony begins. A total of 36 clubs will take part in this stage of the competition.
Twenty‑nine of those teams earned their spots by finishing in qualifying positions in their domestic leagues at the end of the previous season, while the remaining seven places will be filled by clubs that progress through the qualifying rounds. The tournament is now in its third season under the revamped format introduced a few years ago. Under this system each club will face eight different opponents during the league phase – two teams 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 are away fixtures.
The draw itself is conducted by a sophisticated computer algorithm. With a single press of a button the super‑computer automatically selects the eight opponents for every club, ensuring that all the complex constraints set by UEFA are respected.
While the four spots allocated through the qualifiers are still pending, the 32 clubs that have already secured their places are confirmed. The allocation of teams to the four pots is based on UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, which take into account each club’s results in European competitions over the five‑year period ending with the 2025/26 season.
Among the headline‑making clubs, the back‑to‑back champions Paris Saint‑Germain sit in Pot 1 alongside Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. Manchester United and the Europa League winners Aston Villa – both returning to the competition after a hiatus – have been placed in Pot 2.
UEFA’s new regulations also impose several restrictions on how clubs can be paired. For example, Liverpool cannot be drawn to host Real Madrid in the league phase because a team may not meet the same opponent at home for three consecutive seasons.
Liverpool faced Real Madrid at Anfield in the two previous league‑phase campaigns – a 2‑0 win in November 2024 and a 1‑0 victory a year later – so a repeat home fixture is prohibited. However, an away meeting with the Spanish giants remains permissible. In addition, Liverpool cannot be paired with any other 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 Pot 1 clubs: Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid. The same logic applies to Arsenal, which has already met Inter Milan at the San Siro in the last two league‑phase cycles (a 1‑0 loss in November 2024 followed by a 3‑1 win in January 2025).
Consequently, Arsenal is guaranteed to face one of the remaining Pot 1 teams – Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid – on the road, while an away‑to‑home swap could see them host Inter. Once the league‑phase schedule is set, the competition moves into the knockout stage.
The eight highest‑ranked clubs at the end of the league phase automatically qualify for the round of 16. Teams that finish 25th or lower are eliminated outright and do not drop into the Europa League.
Clubs placed from ninth to 24th enter a two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑off. Within this group, those finishing ninth to 16th are seeded and will be drawn against a team finishing 17th to 24th, with the second leg played at home.
The eight winners of these play‑offs then join the top‑eight seeded clubs in the round of 16, and the competition proceeds through quarter‑finals, semi‑finals and the final. The league‑phase matchdays are scheduled 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 exact dates for the two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑offs have yet to be announced. The subsequent stages are set for: - Play‑off legs: 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 held at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on 5 June 2027.
Fans looking for extra excitement can also try the Super 6 game for a chance to win £1 million – entry is free and the competition runs alongside the Champions League schedule.