2026-27 Champions League Draw: Key Details on Pots, Teams & Rules

The draw for the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League league phase will take place on Thursday, 27 August at 17:00 BST in Monaco, marking a key moment for Europe's top clubs as they prepare for a revamped competition format.

A total of 36 teams will participate in the league phase, with 29 securing qualification through their domestic leagues and seven determined via play-off matches. Under the new format, each club will face eight different opponents—four at home and four away—while avoiding teams from the same national association. The draw will divide the 36 clubs into four pots based on UEFA’s five-year club coefficient rankings, ensuring seeded matchups across different tiers of European football.

Premier League champions Arsenal, runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain in the previous season’s final, will feature in Pot One alongside last season’s winners PSG, as well as Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester City. This elite group reflects the dominance of Europe’s traditional powerhouses in continental competition.

Newly qualified English sides Aston Villa and Manchester United join Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis, and PSV Eindhoven in Pot Two. Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, and Fenerbahçe populate Pot Three, while Pot Four includes Slavia Prague, VfB Stuttgart, LASK, Como, Lens, Sabah, AEK Athens, Slovan Bratislava, and Viking.

UEFA has introduced a restriction preventing clubs from facing the same opponent in three consecutive league phases, meaning Liverpool will not draw Real Madrid at home this season, though a reverse fixture remains possible.

The league phase will conclude with the top eight teams advancing directly to the round of 16. Teams ranked ninth to 24th will enter a play-off knockout round, while those finishing between 25th and 36th will exit European competition.

The draw will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app at 17:00 BST on 27 August.

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