2026-27 Champions League draw: Four pots set to see 36 clubs face their league-stage opponents in star-studded fixtures

FILE – The trophy is displayed for photographers before the Champions League soccer draw in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File) The Champions League has its field of 36 teams, four seeding pots and, after Thursday’s draw in Monaco, a full set of opponents from the league stage. This season’s draw has featured some heavyweight encounters, including Arsenal hosting Real Madrid and traveling to Bayern Munich, Liverpool welcoming Atlético Madrid before heading to Inter Milan, and Manchester City paired with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.Manchester United’s return to Europe’s elite also brings a sensational reunion with Bayern Munich at Old Trafford, while Aston Villa received a particularly glamorous reward for winning the Europa League. With each team facing eight different opponents, here’s how the new Champions League campaign has been set up.

How the Champions League stage works

The 36 clubs are divided into four banks according to their UEFA coefficient and results in European competition over the last five years.Each club is then drawn against two teams from each pot, giving each side a total of eight games in the league stage.The schedule is split evenly between home and away games, so each club will play four home games and four away games. It produces 144 matches in the entire league phase.The format also determines what happens after those eight games. The top eight teams in the standings advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing ninth to 24th enter the knockout stage of the playoffs. The remaining pages are removed.There are also important restrictions on the draw. Five Premier League clubs cannot be pitted against each other during the league stage, while UEFA has introduced a further condition preventing the same fixture against the same home team from being repeated for three consecutive seasons.This means that Liverpool cannot host Real Madrid again, while Inter Milan cannot host Arsenal again after these matches were played against the same home teams in the previous two seasons.

Four pots full of Europe’s biggest clubs for the 2026-27 / UEFA Champions League season

Pot 1: European Heavyweights

The first pot features the defending champions and some of the biggest names in European football, giving the teams drawn from the lower pots the chance to face some formidable opposition.

• Paris Saint-Germain
• Bayern Munich
• Real Madrid
• Liverpool
• Inter Milan
• Manchester City
• Arsenal
• Barcelona
• Atlético Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain enter as two-time defending European champions, having beaten Arsenal in last season’s final.

Pot 2: United return alongside European heavyweights

Manchester United are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and will be drawn from the second pot.

• Borussia Dortmund
• Roma people
• Sports CP
• Aston Villa
• Oporto
• Manchester United
• Club Bruges
• Real Betis
• PSV Eindhoven

Aston Villa also enter this group after winning the Europa League, while Dortmund and Porto bring their own European pedigree.

Pot 3: The dangerous middle ground

Pot 3 features several clubs capable of making life difficult for the competition’s traditional giants.

• Feyenoord
• Lille
• Bodø/Glimt
• Naples
• RB Leipzig
• Villarreal
• Fenerbahce
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Galatasaray

Bodø/Glimt will be especially familiar to viewers who watched last season’s competition. The Norwegian club became one of the stories of the tournament after beating Manchester City, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan in a remarkable run before reaching the last eight.Fenerbahçe also return to their own competition after beating Lyon 3-2 on aggregate in the qualifiers, their first appearance in a major tournament since 2008-09.

Pot 4: Rookies and potential surprises

Pot 4 rounds out the field with several clubs making their debut in the competition itself.

• Slavia Prague
• Slavic Bratislava
• Stuttgart
• AEK Athens
• SHOT
• As
• Lens
• Viking
• Sabah

Viking reached the league stage after beating Dinamo Zagreb 5-3 on aggregate, while Sabah, LASK and Como also enter their own competition for the first time. Como will be coached by former Champions League runner-up Cesc Fàbregas.

Five Premier League clubs

English clubs have been handed a mix of successful draws and potentially unpleasant outings, although none can face another Premier League team at this stage.

Arsenal

Last season’s winners had arguably one of the most eye-catching fixtures in the competition.Arsenal will host Real Madrid in a heavyweight fixture and travel to Bayern Munich while also facing Borussia Dortmund at home and Real Betis away.Their full schedule is:

• Real Madrid – home
• Bayern Munich – gone
• Borussia Dortmund – home
• The real Betis – gone
• Lille – home
• Naples — gone
• Sabah — home
• Slavia Prague — gone

Liverpool

Liverpool welcome Atlético Madrid to Anfield before traveling to face Inter Milan at the San Siro.The Reds’ eight opponents are:

• Atlético Madrid – home
• Inter Milan – gone
• Porto — home
• Club Brugge – gone
• Villarreal — home
• Fenerbahce — gone
• Lens — domestic
• LASK — gone

The Inter game also allows Curtis Jones an immediate reunion with his former club following his reported 30 million euro ($35.1 million) move to the Italian side.Liverpool’s draw also means there will be no repeat of their previous home meeting with Real Madrid.

Manchester City

Manchester City face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at home and travel to Barcelona, ​​giving them two of the biggest games possible in the league stage.Their complete schedule is:

• Paris Saint-Germain – home
• Barcelona – away
• Sporting CP — home
• Porto — gone
• Naples — home
• RB Leipzig — gone
• AEK Athens – home
• Lens – gone

City only made it to the league stage last season, so they face another tough campaign against a mix of established European sides and potentially tricky opponents from lower pots.

Manchester United

United’s return to the Champions League begins with a big game at Old Trafford against Bayern Munich, a repeat of one of European football’s most famous finals.Michael Carrick’s side also travel to Atlético Madrid and host Roma.Their eight luminaries are:

• Bayern Munich – Home
• Atlético Madrid — away
• Roma — home
• Sporting CP — gone
• RB Leipzig — home
• Villarreal — gone
• Sabah — home
• Like — gone

Aston Villa

Aston Villa’s reward for winning the Europa League is a league stage schedule with Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund.Unai Emery’s side will host PSG and Dortmund while traveling to Barcelona and Club Brugge.Their equipment is:

• Paris Saint-Germain – home
• Barcelona – away
• Borussia Dortmund – home
• Club Brugge – gone
• Fenerbahçe — home
• Galatasaray — away
• Viking — home
• Slavia Prague — gone

The rest of the league stage

With 36 teams and eight opponents apiece, there is much more outside of English clubs. Here is the complete draw including home and away venues.

Real Madrid

• Inter Milan – home
• Arsenal — gone
• PSV Eindhoven – home
• Roma — gone
• RB Leipzig — home
• Shakhtar Donetsk — gone
• LASK — home
• AEK Athens – gone

Inter Milan

• Liverpool – home
• Real Madrid – away
• Club Brugge – home
• Borussia Dortmund – away
• Shakhtar Donetsk — home
• Feyenoord — away
• Stuttgart – home
• Slovan Bratislava — away

Barcelona

• Manchester City – Home
• Paris Saint-Germain — gone
• Aston Villa – home
• Sporting CP — gone
• Feyenoord — home
• Galatasaray — away
• Like — home
• Sabah — gone

Atlético Madrid

• Bayern Munich – Home
• Liverpool – away
• Manchester United – Home
• PSV Eindhoven – gone
• Fenerbahçe — home
• Bodø/Glimt — gone
• Viking — home
• Stuttgart — away

Paris Saint-Germain

• Barcelona – home
• Manchester City – away
• Roma — home
• Aston Villa – away
• Galatasaray — home
• Villarreal — gone
• Slovan Bratislava — home
• Like — gone

Bayern Munich

• Arsenal — home
• Atlético Madrid — away
• The real Betis – gone
• Manchester United — gone
• Bodø/Glimt — home
• Lille — away
• Slavia Prague — home
• Viking — gone

Borussia Dortmund

• Inter Milan – home
• Arsenal — gone
• Real Betis – home
• Aston Villa – away
• Villarreal — home
• Bodø/Glimt — gone
• AEK Athens – home
• Sabah — gone

Oporto

• Manchester City – Home
• Liverpool – away
• PSV Eindhoven – home
• The real Betis – gone
• Naples — home
• Feyenoord — away
• Slavia Prague — home
• LASK — gone

Real Betis

• Arsenal — home
• Bayern Munich – gone
• Porto — home
• Borussia Dortmund – away
• Feyenoord — home
• Lille — away
• Like — home
• Slovan Bratislava — away

Roma people

• Real Madrid – home
• Paris Saint-Germain — gone
• Sporting CP — home
• Manchester United — gone
• Lille – home
• Fenerbahce — gone
• Slovan Bratislava — home
• AEK Athens – gone

Sports CP

• Barcelona – home
• Manchester City – away
• Manchester United – Home
• Roma — gone
• Galatasaray — home
• Shakhtar Donetsk — gone
• LASK — home
• Lens – gone

PSV Eindhoven

• Atlético Madrid – home
• Real Madrid – away
• Club Brugge – home
• Porto — gone
• Shakhtar Donetsk — home
• RB Leipzig — gone
• Stuttgart – home
• Viking — gone

Shakhtar Donetsk

• Real Madrid – home
• Inter Milan – gone
• Sporting CP — home
• PSV Eindhoven – gone
• Fenerbahçe — home
• RB Leipzig — gone
• AEK Athens – home
• Slovan Bratislava — away

Villarreal

• Paris Saint-Germain – home
• Liverpool – away
• Manchester United – Home
• Borussia Dortmund – away
• Naples — home
• Fenerbahce — gone
• Sabah — home
• Slavia Prague — gone

Bodø/Glimt

• Atlético Madrid – home
• Bayern Munich – gone
• Borussia Dortmund – home
• Club Brugge – gone
• Lille – home
• Naples — gone
• LASK — home
• Lens – gone

RB Leipzig

• Manchester City – Home
• Real Madrid – away
• PSV Eindhoven – home
• Manchester United — gone
• Shakhtar Donetsk — home
• Feyenoord — gone
• Lens — domestic
• Like — gone

Fenerbahce

• Liverpool – home
• Atlético Madrid — away
• Roma — home
• Aston Villa – away
• Villarreal — home
• Shakhtar Donetsk — gone
• Slavia Prague — home
• LASK — gone

Feyenoord

• Inter Milan – home
• Barcelona – away
• Porto — home
• The real Betis – gone
• RB Leipzig — home
• Galatasaray — away
• Like — home
• Viking — gone

Galatasaray

• Barcelona – home
• Paris Saint-Germain — gone
• Aston Villa – home
• Sporting CP — gone
• Feyenoord — home
• Lille — away
• Stuttgart – home
• AEK Athens – gone

Naples

• Arsenal — home
• Manchester City – away
• Club Brugge – home
• Porto — gone
• Bodø/Glimt — home
• Villarreal — gone
• Viking — home
• Sabah — gone

Lille

• Bayern Munich – Home
• Arsenal — gone
• Real Betis – home
• Roma — gone
• Galatasaray — home
• Bodø/Glimt — gone
• Slovan Bratislava — home
• Stuttgart — away

Slavia Prague

• Arsenal — home
• Bayern Munich – gone
• Aston Villa – home
• Porto — gone
• Villarreal — home
• Fenerbahce — gone
• Lens — domestic
• Sabah — gone

Stuttgart

• Atlético Madrid – home
• Inter Milan – gone
• Club Brugge – home
• PSV Eindhoven – gone
• Lille – home
• Galatasaray — away
• Viking — home
• Slovan Bratislava — away

Sabah

• Barcelona – home
• Arsenal — gone
• Borussia Dortmund – home
• Manchester United — gone
• Naples — home
• Villarreal — gone
• Slavia Prague — home
• Viking — gone

AEK Athens

• Real Madrid – home
• Manchester City – away
• Roma — home
• Borussia Dortmund – away
• Galatasaray — home
• Shakhtar Donetsk — gone
• LASK — home
• Like — gone

Lens

• Manchester City – Home
• Liverpool – away
• Sporting CP — home
• Club Brugge – gone
• Bodø/Glimt — home
• RB Leipzig — gone
• Like — home
• Slavia Prague — gone

As

• Paris Saint-Germain – home
• Barcelona – away
• Manchester United – Home
• The real Betis – gone
• RB Leipzig — home
• Feyenoord — away
• AEK Athens – home
• Lens – gone

Viking

• Bayern Munich – Home
• Atlético Madrid — away
• PSV Eindhoven – home
• Aston Villa – away
• Feyenoord — home
• Naples — gone
• Sabah — home
• Stuttgart — away