UEFA Champions League Draw and Team Pot Allocation for 2026-27

The UEFA Champions League is gearing up for its next season after the summer action of the 2026 World Cup. The Champions League resumes with the league-phase draw scheduled to happen today, Thursday, August 27. This follows the conclusion of four rounds of qualifying. The initial stage of the competition begins on Tuesday, September 8.

The previous season ended with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) securing their second consecutive Champions League title. They defeated Arsenal 4-3 in a penalty shootout, following a 1-1 draw in Budapest. Looking ahead, 36 qualified teams aim to reach the 2026-27 final, set for June at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium.

Champions League Draw Details

The draw for this year’s league phase takes place today at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, starting from 5 pm BST/12 pm ET. This follows the final round of qualifying games, which concluded yesterday. The Europa League and Conference League draws will occur a day later at 12 pm BST on Friday, August 28.

Watch the live draw on UEFA’s website, UEFA.com. Viewers in the UK can also watch on TNT Sports 1 and the TNT Sports YouTube channel.

Draw Mechanics

The 36 participating teams will be sorted into four pots, each containing nine teams. The sorting is based on UEFA club coefficient rankings. These rankings reflect performances over the past five years. Pot 1 comprises the top-rated teams, while Pot 4 holds the lowest-ranked.

During the draw, representatives will pick a ball representing each club from the pots. The UEFA supercomputer will then assign each team league-phase opponents. Each team plays eight matches: four at home and four away. Teams from the same country cannot meet in this stage.

Team Allocations

Pot allocations for qualifying teams are as follows:

• Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Bayern Munich (Germany), Real Madrid (Spain), Liverpool (England), Inter (Italy), Manchester City (England), Arsenal (England), Barcelona (Spain), Atletico Madrid (Spain).
• Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Roma (Italy), Sporting CP (Portugal), Aston Villa (England), Porto (Portugal), Manchester United (England), Club Brugge (Belgium), Real Betis (Spain), PSV (Netherlands).
• Pot 3: Feyenoord (Netherlands), Lille (France), Bodo/Glimt (Norway), Napoli (Italy), RB Leipzig (Germany), Villarreal (Spain), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Galatasaray (Turkey), Fenerbahce (Turkey).
• Pot 4: Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), Stuttgart (Germany), LASK (Austria), Como (Italy), Lens (France), Sabah (Azerbaijan), Viking (Norway), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), AEK Athens (Greece).

Match Fixtures

According to UEFA’s website, details regarding match fixtures, including dates and kickoff times, will be available by Saturday, August 29. The league phase kicks off on Tuesday, September 8, with a grand finale where all 36 teams play on Wednesday, January 27.

Opponent Restrictions

Clubs can face any two teams from each pot, except those from their own country. A new rule restricts repeated fixtures. Teams cannot play the same league-phase game with the same home team for three consecutive seasons.

This affects Arsenal and Liverpool, who cannot face certain teams in specific scenarios for the upcoming season. Arsenal has hosted Inter at Milan’s San Siro in both previous seasons. Liverpool has played against Madrid at Anfield in successive league phases, winning both matches.