Champions League 2026-27: League Phase Draw Date and Pot Allocations Explained

The draw for the league phase of the 2026-27 Champions League will be held on Thursday, 27 August at 17:00 BST in Monaco. This stage will feature 36 teams, with 29 clubs already qualified following last season and seven remaining spots to be decided by qualifiers ending next week.

Format and Draw Rules

Each team in the league phase faces eight different opponents once, playing four games at home and four away. The 36 teams are divided into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficient rankings calculated over five seasons up to 2025-26.

Teams will meet two opponents from each pot but cannot play against clubs from the same country during this phase.

After the league phase, the top eight teams advance straight to the round of 16. Teams ranked ninth through 24th enter a play-off knockout round, while those from 25th to 36th are eliminated.

Confirmed Teams and Pot Breakdown

While seven places are still unsettled, 29 teams have confirmed participation and most have assigned pots.

• Pot 1: Nine teams including Premier League champions Arsenal, back-to-back winners Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
• Pot 2: Clubs like Aston Villa and Manchester United return this season and join Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis, and PSV Eindhoven.

The remaining places fall mainly into pots three and four, with some uncertainty depending on upcoming qualifier results.

Pot 3 Confirmed Entrants

• Feyenoord
• Lille
• Napoli
• RB Leipzig
• Villarreal
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Galatasaray
• Winner of Fenerbahce vs Lyon tie

Pot 4 Confirmed Entrants

• VfB Stuttgart
• Como
• Lens
• Winners of Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
• Winners of Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
• Winners of Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs Sabah

Contested Spots Between Pot 3 and Pot 4

The final four places depend on the outcomes of several qualifying ties:

• NEC Nijmegen vs Bodo/Glimt
• Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking
• Celtic vs LASK
• Slavia Prague

If Bodo/Glimt wins against NEC Nijmegen, they claim a spot in pot three, pushing Slavia Prague and other qualifier winners to pot four.

If NEC Nijmegen prevails and Dinamo Zagreb beats Viking, Dinamo Zagreb could secure pot three, provided Bodo/Glimt loses.

Regarding Celtic and Slavia Prague, both have similar coefficients, but Celtic scored more points in the 2024-25 season. Should Celtic win against LASK and others lose, Celtic would take the final pot three place. Otherwise, Slavia Prague will fill that slot in pot four.

Team List by Pot

Pot 1

• Paris St-Germain (France)
• Bayern Munich (Germany)
• Real Madrid (Spain)
• Liverpool (England)
• Inter Milan (Italy)
• Manchester City (England)
• Arsenal (England)
• Barcelona (Spain)
• Atletico Madrid (Spain)

Pot 2

• Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
• Roma (Italy)
• Sporting (Portugal)
• Aston Villa (England)
• Porto (Portugal)
• Manchester United (England)
• Club Brugge (Belgium)
• Real Betis (Spain)
• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

Pot 3

• Feyenoord (Netherlands)
• Lille (France)
• Napoli (Italy)
• RB Leipzig (Germany)
• Villarreal (Spain)
• Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
• Galatasaray (Turkey)
• Winner of Fenerbahce (Turkey) vs Lyon (France)

Pot 3 or 4

• Winner of NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands) vs Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
• Winner of Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) vs Viking (Norway)
• Winner of Celtic (Scotland) vs LASK (Austria)
• Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)

Pot 4

• Winner of Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) vs Celje (Slovenia)
• VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
• Winner of Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) vs AEK Athens (Greece)
• Como (Italy)
• Lens (France)
• Winner of Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Israel) vs Sabah (Azerbaijan)