The Champions League 2026/27 draw takes place in Monaco on Aug. 27, with 36 clubs set for the league phase. Here are the draw details, format, fixtures and key dates
The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is approaching its league-phase draw, with Europe’s leading clubs preparing to discover their opponents for the opening stage of the competition.
The draw will take place in Monaco on Thursday, Aug. 27, with the ceremony scheduled for 18:00 CET. The league phase begins on Sept. 8.
Twenty-nine clubs have already qualified automatically, while seven additional places will be filled by the winners of the Champions League playoff ties taking place Aug. 25 and 26.
How does the Champions League league-phase draw work?
The competition is now in its third season under the expanded league-phase format.
Instead of the traditional group stage, 36 clubs compete in one league table. Each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents: four at home and four away.
The clubs are divided into four pots of nine, based on their UEFA club coefficients. Each team is drawn against two clubs from each pot, with one home and one away fixture against opponents from each pot. Clubs generally cannot face another team from the same national association during the league phase.
The draw uses a computer-assisted system to determine the fixtures once clubs are assigned their positions.
Which Premier League clubs have qualified?
Five English clubs are set to participate in the 2026/27 Champions League:
- Arsenal
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Aston Villa
Manchester United and Aston Villa are particularly notable additions after their respective absences from the previous edition, with Villa returning after winning the 2025/26 Europa League.
Liverpool are among the clubs in Pot 1, alongside several of Europe’s traditional powers.
Champions League draw pots
The final composition of the pots depends on the outcome of the remaining playoff ties. UEFA’s draw will feature 36 teams, including the seven playoff winners.
Among the leading clubs already positioned in the highest pot are:
Pot 1
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
- Liverpool
- Inter Milan
- Manchester City
- Arsenal
- Barcelona
- Atletico Madrid
Pot 2
- Aston Villa
- Manchester United
- Borussia Dortmund
- Roma
- Sporting CP
- Porto
- Club Brugge
- PSV Eindhoven
- Real Betis
The remaining positions are affected by the playoff results.
Pot 3
- Feyenoord
- Lille
- Napoli
- RB Leipzig
- Villarreal
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Galatasaray
- Winner of Fenerbahce vs Lyon
Pot 3 or 4
- Winner of NEC Nijmegen vs Bodo/Glimt
- Winner of Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking
- Winner of Celtic vs LASK
- Slavia Prague
Pot 4
- Winner of Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
- VfB Stuttgart
- Winner of Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
- Como
- Lens
- Winner of Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Sabah
Celtic’s Champions League route
Celtic remain one of the clubs fighting for a place in the league phase.
The Scottish champions won the first leg of their playoff against LASK 3-0 and travel for the return fixture on Aug. 25. The winner advances to the Champions League league phase, while the defeated side moves into the Europa League league phase.
Other playoff ties include Bodø/Glimt against NEC Nijmegen, Fenerbahçe against Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb against Viking, Slovan Bratislava against Celje, Levski Sofia against AEK Athens and Hapoel Beer-Sheva against Sabah.
Who reaches the knockout rounds?
The league-phase table will determine the route into the knockout stage.
The top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16.
Teams finishing ninth through 24th enter a two-legged knockout-phase playoff. The teams ranked ninth to 16th are seeded and play the second leg at home against teams ranked 17th to 24th.
The 12 clubs finishing from 25th to 36th are eliminated from European competition rather than dropping into the Europa League.
The eight playoff winners then face one of the top-eight league-phase finishers in the round of 16.
Champions League 2026/27 league-phase schedule
UEFA’s confirmed schedule is:
- Matchday 1: 8–10, 2026
- Matchday 2: 13–14
- Matchday 3: 20–21
- Matchday 4: 3–4
- Matchday 5: 24–25
- Matchday 6: 8–9
- Matchday 7: 19–20, 2027
- Matchday 8: 27
Champions League knockout schedule
The knockout phase will begin in February.
- Knockout-phase playoffs: 16–17 and 23–24, 2027
- Round of 16: March 9–10 and 16–17
- Quarter-finals: April 6–7 and 13–14
- Semi-finals: April 27–28 and May 4–5
- Final: June 5
When and where is the 2027 Champions League final?
The Champions League final will be played at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on Saturday, June 5, 2027.
The Atlético Madrid stadium will host the European showpiece for the second time. It previously staged the Champions League final in 2019, when Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0.
With the league phase expanding the number of high-profile fixtures and eliminating the traditional group stage, the 2026/27 competition promises another season of significant European clashes.
The first major piece of the puzzle will be revealed in Monaco on Aug. 27, when the 36 participating clubs learn the opponents that will shape their route toward Madrid.
