The draw for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is set to take place on Thursday in Monaco, kicking off at 5 p.m. UK time. Below is a comprehensive guide that covers 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 spots by the close of the previous season, while the remaining seven places will be filled through the qualifying rounds that are still underway. The tournament is now in its third year under the new format that was introduced a few seasons ago. Under this system each team will face eight different opponents during the league phase – two clubs drawn from each of the four pots (Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4). Four of those eight matches will be played on home soil and the other four will be away, giving every side an equal split of fixtures.
The draw itself is performed by a sophisticated computer algorithm. With a single press of a button the program automatically selects the eight opponents for each club, ensuring that all the competition’s regulations are respected.
While the four qualifying spots are still pending, the identities of the thirty‑two clubs that have already qualified are now known. 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 five‑year period ending with the 2025/26 season. In Pot 1 sit the defending 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 making a return to the Champions League after a period away. UEFA’s new regulations also introduce a restriction that prevents a team from meeting 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 league phases (a 2‑0 victory in November 2024 and a 1‑0 win a year later). Consequently, Liverpool cannot be drawn to host Real Madrid this Thursday, although an away fixture against the Spanish giants remains possible. Another limitation is that clubs from the same domestic league cannot be paired in the league phase.
This means Liverpool will not be drawn against any other English side, such as Arsenal or Manchester City, during the group stage. As a result, Liverpool is guaranteed to face at least one of the following clubs at Anfield: Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. The same principle applies to Arsenal.
After playing Inter Milan away at the San Siro in both of the last two league phases (a 1‑0 loss in November 2024 followed by a 3‑1 win in January 2025), Arsenal is also forced to draw one of the other Pot 1 clubs for an away match. Therefore, Arsenal will definitely travel to face either Paris Saint‑Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, while it may still host Inter Milan at the Emirates Stadium. Once the league‑phase fixtures are set, the competition moves into the knockout stage.
The eight clubs that finish at the top of the league‑phase table automatically qualify for the round of 16. Teams that finish in positions 25 and lower are eliminated outright and do not drop into the Europa League. Clubs placed between ninth and twenty‑fourth enter a two‑legged knockout‑phase play‑off. Those finishing ninth to sixteenth are seeded and will be drawn against a team that finished seventeenth to twenty‑fourth, with the second leg being played at home.
The eight winners of these play‑offs then join the eight seeded teams in the round of 16. 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 phases are slated for: - 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 can also take part in the "Super 6" promotion for a chance to win a £1 million prize, with free entry available through the official competition portal. In summary, the Thursday draw will determine each club’s eight league‑phase opponents, balancing home and away fixtures while respecting UEFA’s coefficient‑based pot system and the new restrictions on repeat match‑ups and domestic pairings.
The outcome will shape the path each team must travel to reach the knockout rounds and ultimately the coveted final in Madrid.