The draw that will set the fixtures for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase is slated for Thursday, taking place in Monaco at 5 p.m. UK time. Below is a comprehensive guide covering everything fans need to know before the event kicks off. A total of thirty‑six clubs will be part of the league phase.
Twenty‑nine of these earned their spots by finishing high enough in their domestic competitions last season, while the remaining seven places will be filled by teams that progress through the qualifying rounds. This means that, once the qualifiers are concluded, the full roster of thirty‑six participants will be confirmed.
The competition is now in its third year under the new 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 these eight matches are played at the club’s home stadium, and the other half are away fixtures, ensuring a balanced schedule of home‑and‑away games. The actual drawing process is handled by a sophisticated computer algorithm.
Once the operator presses a single button, the super‑computer automatically pairs each team with its eight opponents, adhering to all the constraints set by UEFA. While the four qualifying spots are still pending, the other thirty‑two clubs have already been confirmed. The allocation of teams to the four pots is based on UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, which take into account each club’s performance in European competitions over the previous five seasons, ending with the 2025/26 campaign.
The top tier, Pot 1, features the reigning back‑to‑back champions Paris Saint‑Germain alongside other European heavyweights such as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Pot 2 includes Manchester United and the Europa League winners Aston Villa, both of which are returning to the Champions League after a brief absence. UEFA’s new regulations impose certain restrictions on how teams can be paired. For example, Liverpool cannot be drawn to host Real Madrid in this Thursday’s draw because a rule now prevents any two clubs from meeting in the same league‑phase fixture for three consecutive seasons.
Liverpool faced Real Madrid at Anfield in both of the last two league phases – a 2‑0 victory in November 2024 and a 1‑0 win a year later – so they may only be drawn against the Spanish side on the road. Furthermore, Liverpool is barred from being matched against any other English club during the league phase.
Since Pot 1 also contains Arsenal and Manchester City, Liverpool’s possible home opponents are limited to the non‑English clubs in that pot: Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. The same logic applies to Arsenal, which has already played Inter Milan away at the San Siro in the last two league phases (a 1‑0 loss in November 2024 followed by a 3‑1 win in January 2025).
Consequently, Arsenal will certainly face one of the other Pot 1 clubs away from home, while it could still meet Inter Milan at the Emirates. After the league phase concludes, the eight highest‑placed teams automatically advance to the round of 16. Teams that finish in 25th place or lower are eliminated from European competition entirely and do not drop into the Europa League.
The clubs that end the league phase in positions 9 through 24 enter a two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑off. Those finishing between 9th and 16th are seeded and will be drawn against a team placed between 17th and 24th, with the second leg of the tie taking place at the seeded club’s home ground. The eight winners of these play‑offs then join the eight seeded clubs in the round of 16, where the competition shifts to a traditional knockout format. The schedule for the league‑phase matchdays is 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 dates for the two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑offs have yet to be announced.
The subsequent stages are set for the following windows: - 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 2027 The grand finale will be staged at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on 5 June 2027. In addition to the on‑field action, fans will have the opportunity to participate in a "Super 6" competition offering a chance to win £1 million, with free entry for all participants. Overall, the Thursday draw in Monaco will set the stage for a thrilling league phase, featuring a mix of historic powerhouses and emerging clubs, all competing under a set of rules designed to maximise variety and fairness throughout the season.