The highly anticipated draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase took place on August 28, 2025, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Football fans across Europe and beyond tuned in to discover the opponents for their favorite teams in this revamped format of the competition.
This year, a record number of six Premier League teams are participating, including Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Newcastle United. Their presence highlights the strong performance of English clubs in recent European competitions.
The 36 participating teams were divided into four pots based on their UEFA coefficient rankings. Pot 1 featured prominent teams like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona. Arsenal was placed in Pot 2, while Tottenham Hotspur found themselves in Pot 3 after their Europa League victory. Newcastle United were in Pot 4.
The draw determined the eight opponents each team will face in the league phase, with each club playing four matches at home and four away. The automated software, already in use last year, ensured that no teams from the same association were drawn against each other, and no team would face more than two opponents from the same association.
The league phase will run from September 16, 2025, to January 28, 2026. The top eight teams in the league phase will automatically qualify for the round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to determine the remaining spots in the round of 16. Clubs finishing between 25th and 36th will exit European competition altogether.
Key dates for the 2025/26 Champions League are:
The fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be communicated no later than Saturday, August 30. Football fans can follow the action live on UEFA's website and the Champions League app.
