The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League campaign moves into a major stage on Thursday, August 27, when the league-phase draw takes place in Monaco.
Europe’s leading clubs will learn the opponents they must face during the opening phase of the competition, with 36 teams set to compete for a place in the knockout rounds and, ultimately, the trophy.
The draw will be conducted under the expanded Champions League format introduced in recent seasons, replacing the traditional group-stage system with a single league table.
How The 2026/27 Champions League Format Works
The league phase will feature 36 clubs competing in one table.
Rather than playing the same three opponents home and away, each team will be assigned eight different opponents.
Every club will have:
Four home matches
Four away matches
The draw will select two opponents for each club from each of the four seeding pots.
A computerised system will assist with the draw and ensure the pairings comply with UEFA’s competition rules.
The league phase will therefore produce a wider range of fixtures, with clubs facing opponents from across Europe before the competition moves into the knockout rounds.
Champions League Pot 1
The first pot contains the defending champions and several of the continent’s biggest clubs.
The current teams listed in Pot 1 are:
Paris Saint-Germain
Bayern Munich
Real Madrid
Liverpool
Inter Milan
Manchester City
Arsenal
Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain enter the competition as holders, while Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Arsenal and Barcelona are among the other major names in the top pot.
Champions League Pot 2
The second pot is also packed with clubs possessing significant European experience.
Its teams are:
Aston Villa
Manchester United
Borussia Dortmund
Roma
Sporting
Porto
Club Brugge
PSV Eindhoven
Real Betis
Aston Villa will be among the teams attracting attention after their strong recent European campaigns, while Manchester United return to the Champions League stage as one of the competition’s most recognisable clubs.
Teams Confirmed In Pot 3
A number of clubs have already been allocated places in Pot 3.
They include:
Feyenoord
Lille
Napoli
RB Leipzig
Villarreal
Shakhtar Donetsk
Galatasaray
The final make-up of the lower pots will depend on the outcome of the remaining qualifying fixtures.
Bodo/Glimt, LASK Linz, Sabah, Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Como and Lens are among the clubs whose final positions are yet to be settled.
The outcomes of several outstanding ties will also influence the composition of the draw.
Those fixtures include:
Fenerbahce vs Lyon
Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking
Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
The successful teams will complete the field and determine the final seeding positions.
What Happens After The League Phase?
The league table will play a crucial role in determining the knockout-stage qualifiers.
The eight clubs that finish highest will progress directly to the round of 16.
Teams placed from ninth to 24th will not be eliminated immediately. Instead, they will enter a two-legged knockout play-off, with eight round-of-16 places available.
The teams finishing ninth to 16th will be seeded for the play-offs and will face clubs ranked 17th to 24th.
The seeded teams will play the second leg at home.
The eight winners will then join the top eight teams in the round of 16.
There will be no further European opportunity for clubs that finish 25th or lower. Those teams will be eliminated from UEFA’s club competitions for the season.
When Are The Champions League League-Phase Matches?
The league phase will run from September 2026 until January 2027.
The scheduled matchdays are:
Matchday 1: September 8–10, 2026
Matchday 2: October 13–14, 2026
Matchday 3: October 20–21, 2026
Matchday 4: November 3–4, 2026
Matchday 5: November 24–25, 2026
Matchday 6: December 8–9, 2026
Matchday 7: January 19–20, 2027
Matchday 8: January 27, 2027
The draw will determine the opponents for each of those fixtures, with the exact match schedule to be confirmed following the draw.
Champions League Knockout-Stage Dates
The competition will enter its knockout phase in February 2027.
The scheduled dates are:
Knockout play-offs: February 16–17 and February 23–24
Round of 16: March 9–10 and March 16–17
Quarter-finals: April 6–7 and April 13–14
Semi-finals: April 27–28 and May 4–5
Final: June 5, 2027
The dates mean clubs that successfully navigate the league phase and subsequent knockout rounds will have a long route to the final.
Where Will The 2027 Champions League Final Be Played?
The final of the 2026/27 Champions League will be staged at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on June 5, 2027.
The stadium is the home ground of Atletico Madrid and can accommodate approximately 70,000 spectators.
It will become the Champions League final venue for the second time.
The Madrid stadium previously hosted the 2019 final, when Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to win the European title.
What To Expect From The Draw
The league-phase draw is expected to produce several high-profile encounters, given the number of elite clubs spread across the four pots.
Teams will be looking not only to secure favourable opponents but also to collect enough points to finish among the leading positions in the league table.
For the biggest contenders, the ultimate objective remains the same: survive the new league phase, negotiate the knockout rounds and reach the final in Madrid.
The draw on August 27 will reveal the first part of that journey.
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