Champions League 2026/27 draw: Everything to know ahead of tonight’s ceremony.
The 2026/27 Champions League league phase draw will take place today, Thursday, August 27, at 8pm UAE time, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The ceremony will be streamed live on UEFA.com.
The Europa League and Conference League draws are scheduled for Friday, August 28.
How does the Champions League draw work?
A total of 36 teams will compete in the league phase, divided into four pots of nine teams according to their UEFA club coefficients.
The clubs will be drawn manually, after which UEFA’s automated system will determine each team’s eight opponents and whether the matches will be played at home or away.
Under the format, clubs cannot face another team from the same country. Each side will play eight matches against eight different opponents, meeting two teams from each pot. Every club will have four home and four away fixtures.
The teams will be drawn manually, with UEFA’s automated system then assigning each club its eight opponents and determining which matches will be played at home or away.
Under the league-phase rules, clubs from the same country cannot be drawn against each other.
Champions League draw pots
The 36 teams have been divided into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficients:
Pot 1: PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis, PSV
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce
Pot 4: Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, LASK, Como, Lens, Sabah, Viking, Slovan Bratislava, AEK Athens
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are among the Pot 1 teams, while Manchester United and Europa League winners Aston Villa are placed in Pot 2.
Among the Champions League debutants in Pot 4 are Como of Italy, Azerbaijan’s Sabah, Austria’s LASK, Norway’s Viking and Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava.
Is there a new rule for the draw?
A new restriction has been introduced for the 2026/27 season. The same league-phase fixture, with the same team playing at home, cannot be repeated for a third consecutive season.
The rule affects Arsenal and Liverpool. Arsenal have faced Inter away in each of the past two league phases, meaning they cannot be drawn away to Inter at San Siro for a third successive season.
Liverpool have also been affected by the new restriction, having hosted Real Madrid in each of the previous two seasons. As a result, Liverpool cannot be drawn to face Real Madrid at Anfield again in this season’s league phase.
When will the Champions League fixtures be announced?
While the draw will determine each club’s opponents, fans will have to wait a little longer for the full fixture schedule.
UEFA is expected to announce the confirmed match dates and kick-off times by Saturday, August 29.
The league phase will begin on Tuesday, September 8, with the final round scheduled for Wednesday, January 27. All 36 teams will play simultaneously on the final matchday.
Fans around the world are counting down to the start of the Champions League spectacle.
