The 2026/27 Champions League league phase is fully mapped out. The draw was held on Thursday, 27 August, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, and it delivered exactly the kind of fixtures that make the new format worth paying attention to. Paris Saint-Germain, chasing an unprecedented third straight European title, were drawn against Barcelona and Manchester City among their eight opponents. Arsenal, beaten on penalties by PSG in May's final, were paired with Real Madrid. Bayern Munich will host Manchester United. And four clubs who almost never reach this stage, Sabah FK of Azerbaijan among them, will spend the autumn and winter mixing it with some of the biggest names in football.

Here is everything that came out of Monaco: the four pots in full, every one of the 36 clubs' eight opponents, the fixtures worth circling on the calendar, and the dates that matter between now and next June's final in Madrid.

How the 2026/27 draw worked

The league phase draw ran under the same system introduced for 2024/25. All 36 qualified clubs were split into four pots of nine, seeded by club coefficient, with reigning champions PSG automatically installed as the top seed in Pot 1. Each club was drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots, one at home and one away, for eight matches in total (four home, four away). Clubs from the same association could not be paired together, and no club could face more than two teams from any single other association.

That produces a single 36-team table rather than the old group format. The top eight finishers advance straight to the round of 16, the teams ranked 9th to 24th go into a two-legged knockout play-off for the remaining eight spots (with 9th to 16th seeded), and anyone from 25th down is out of Europe entirely for the season. For the full breakdown of how that table, the play-off round and the rest of the knockout stage actually work, read our Champions League new format explained guide, which also covers last season's result in detail. This piece is about what the draw itself produced.

The 36 clubs and four draw pots

Seeding is based on each club's UEFA coefficient at the start of the season, with the title holder guaranteed top billing. Here is how the four pots broke down.

Pot 1

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

Pot 2

• Borussia Dortmund
• Roma
• Sporting CP
• Aston Villa
• Porto
• Manchester United
• Club Brugge
• Real Betis
• PSV Eindhoven

Pot 3

• Feyenoord
• Lille
• Bodø/Glimt
• Napoli
• RB Leipzig
• Villarreal
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Galatasaray
• Fenerbahçe

Pot 4

• LASK
• Sabah FK
• Slavia Prague
• Stuttgart
• Como
• Lens
• Viking FK
• Slovan Bratislava
• AEK Athens

Pot 4 is the most interesting of the four this season. Alongside familiar names like Stuttgart and Slavia Prague sit three clubs who came through the qualifying rounds from smaller footballing nations: Sabah FK of Azerbaijan, Viking FK of Norway and Austria's LASK. Getting from there to a home draw against Real Madrid or Arsenal is not something those clubs will experience often.

Full fixture list: every club's eight opponents

Below is the complete draw, club by club, listing the four teams each side hosts at home and the four they travel to. Kickoff dates and times for each individual fixture had not been confirmed at the time of the draw. UEFA said the full calendar, matching each fixture to one of the eight matchdays, would follow within 48 hours.

Club	Home opponents	Away opponents
AEK Athens	Real Madrid, Roma, Galatasaray, LASK	Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk, Como
Arsenal	Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, Sabah FK	Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli, Slavia Prague
Aston Villa	Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbahçe, Viking FK	Barcelona, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Slavia Prague
Atlético Madrid	Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Fenerbahçe, Viking FK	Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven, Bodø/Glimt, Stuttgart
Barcelona	Manchester City, Aston Villa, Feyenoord, Como	Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Galatasaray, Sabah FK
Bayern Munich	Arsenal, Real Betis, Bodø/Glimt, Slavia Prague	Atlético Madrid, Manchester United, Lille, Viking FK
Bodø/Glimt	Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, LASK	Bayern Munich, Club Brugge, Napoli, Lens
Borussia Dortmund	Inter Milan, Real Betis, Villarreal, AEK Athens	Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bodø/Glimt, Sabah FK
Club Brugge	Liverpool, Aston Villa, Bodø/Glimt, Lens	Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Stuttgart
Como	Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens	Barcelona, Real Betis, Feyenoord, Lens
Fenerbahçe	Liverpool, Roma, Villarreal, Slavia Prague	Atlético Madrid, Aston Villa, Shakhtar Donetsk, LASK
Feyenoord	Inter Milan, Porto, RB Leipzig, Como	Barcelona, Real Betis, Galatasaray, Viking FK
Galatasaray	Barcelona, Aston Villa, Feyenoord, Stuttgart	Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Lille, AEK Athens
Inter Milan	Liverpool, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart	Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava
LASK	Liverpool, Porto, Fenerbahçe, Slovan Bratislava	Real Madrid, Sporting CP, Bodø/Glimt, AEK Athens
RB Leipzig	Manchester City, PSV Eindhoven, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lens	Real Madrid, Manchester United, Feyenoord, Como
Lens	Liverpool, Club Brugge, RB Leipzig, Slavia Prague	Manchester City, Sporting CP, Bodø/Glimt, Como
Liverpool	Atlético Madrid, Porto, Villarreal, Lens	Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, LASK
Lille	Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava	Arsenal, Roma, Bodø/Glimt, Stuttgart
Manchester City	Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting CP, Napoli, AEK Athens	Barcelona, Porto, RB Leipzig, Lens
Manchester United	Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig, Sabah FK	Atlético Madrid, Sporting CP, Villarreal, Como
Napoli	Arsenal, Club Brugge, Bodø/Glimt, Viking FK	Manchester City, Porto, Villarreal, Sabah FK
Paris Saint-Germain	Barcelona, Roma, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava	Manchester City, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Como
PSV Eindhoven	Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart	Real Madrid, Porto, RB Leipzig, Viking FK
Real Betis	Arsenal, Porto, Feyenoord, Como	Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, Slovan Bratislava
Real Madrid	Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig, LASK	Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, AEK Athens
Roma	Real Madrid, Sporting CP, Lille, Slovan Bratislava	Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens
Porto	Manchester City, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Slavia Prague	Liverpool, Real Betis, Feyenoord, LASK
Sabah FK	Arsenal, Manchester United, Villarreal, Viking FK	Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Slavia Prague
Shakhtar Donetsk	Real Madrid, Sporting CP, Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens	Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava
Slavia Prague	Arsenal, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Lens	Bayern Munich, Porto, Fenerbahçe, Sabah FK
Slovan Bratislava	Inter Milan, Real Betis, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart	Paris Saint-Germain, Roma, Lille, LASK
Sporting CP	Barcelona, Manchester United, Galatasaray, LASK	Manchester City, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lens
Stuttgart	Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Lille, Viking FK	Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava
Viking FK	Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, Sabah FK	Atlético Madrid, Aston Villa, Napoli, Stuttgart
Villarreal	Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Napoli, Sabah FK	Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbahçe, Slavia Prague

The marquee matchups and storylines

PSG go into this draw as two-time defending champions, and their route says a lot about the size of the task ahead of them. Luis Enrique's side beat Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2024/25 final in Munich, then edged Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in Budapest last May to retain the trophy, with Vitinha named man of the match. A third straight title would put PSG alongside Real Madrid's 2016 to 2018 run as the only club to ever three-peat in the Champions League era. Their pool of opponents this time includes Barcelona and Manchester City, either of whom would be a final in their own right at most other stages of the competition.

Arsenal's draw carries its own storyline. Mikel Arteta's side were seconds from a first European Cup since 1971 in May before PSG's penalty shootout heroics denied them, and they now face Real Madrid, the competition's most successful club with 15 titles, as one of their two Pot 1 opponents. Real Madrid also have a tough pool themselves, with Inter Milan, the side PSG thrashed in the 2025 final, among their eight games.

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich host Manchester United in one of the standout Pot 1 versus Pot 2 pairings, a fixture with plenty of recent Champions League history behind it. Liverpool were drawn against Atlético Madrid, Porto and Villarreal among others, while Manchester City's pool includes PSG and Barcelona, giving City fans two genuine heavyweight nights at the Etihad or on the road. Inter Milan, still smarting from that 2025 final defeat, will get another look at PSG's great rivals Barcelona in a pool that also includes Real Madrid.

Domestic rivalries also cross paths in unusual ways under this format. Sporting CP and Porto, the two big Portuguese clubs both in the competition, cannot meet each other under the same-association rule, but both face a similar spread of German, English and Spanish opposition. The same is true of Manchester City and Manchester United, and of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Villarreal among the four Spanish entrants.

The underdogs to watch

Pot 4 is where this draw gets genuinely fun. Sabah FK, the Azerbaijani champions, reached the league phase by winning through the qualifying rounds, and they were rewarded with home fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester United and Villarreal. It is a level of competition the club has never experienced in its history, and for a country that rarely gets a club this deep into Europe's top competition, it is a genuine occasion.

Norway's Viking FK face a similarly steep learning curve, with Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven both coming to Stavanger, while Austria's LASK were drawn at home to Liverpool and away to both Real Madrid and Bodø/Glimt's fellow Norwegians in the competition. Slovan Bratislava, no strangers to this stage after their run in the competition's first Swiss-model season, add Paris Saint-Germain to their away schedule.

None of these clubs are given much chance of reaching the top eight, let alone lifting the trophy, but that has never really been the point of a group of this size. For fans of the bigger clubs, these fixtures are the ones most likely to produce a shock. For everyone else, they are a rare chance to see a famous name show up in a stadium that does not usually host this level of football.

2026/27 Champions League schedule: matchday dates to the final

With the pairings confirmed, attention turns to the calendar. The league phase runs across eight matchdays between September and January, followed by the play-off round and knockout stage in February and March, before the quarterfinals, semifinals and final close out the season in the spring.

• Matchday 1: 8 to 10 September 2026
• Matchday 2: 13 to 14 October 2026
• Matchday 3: 20 to 21 October 2026
• Matchday 4: 3 to 4 November 2026
• Matchday 5: 24 to 25 November 2026
• Matchday 6: 8 to 9 December 2026
• Matchday 7: 19 to 20 January 2027
• Matchday 8: 27 January 2027
• Final: 5 June 2027, Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid

UEFA had not yet confirmed which of each club's eight fixtures falls on which matchday at the time of the draw, only the pairings themselves and the overall calendar above. That full schedule, including kickoff times, was expected within a couple of days of the draw. Once it lands, it will decide things like whether Arsenal host Real Madrid early in the campaign or save it for the business end of the league phase, so it is worth checking back before assuming your club's toughest test comes at a particular point in the season.

More Champions League reading

If you want the full mechanics behind this format, including how the play-off round and knockout stage work and how last season's PSG versus Arsenal final finished, read our Champions League new format explained guide. For the competition's history, our list of the Champions League all-time top scorers covers Cristiano Ronaldo's record and the players chasing it. And once the fixtures kick off in September, catch every goal on our Champions League highlights hub.

FAQ

When and where was the Champions League 2026/27 draw held?

The league phase draw took place on Thursday, 27 August 2026, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

How does the Champions League league phase draw work?

All 36 qualified clubs are split into four seeded pots of nine. Each club is drawn against two opponents from each pot, one at home and one away, for eight matches total. Clubs from the same national association cannot be paired together. See our format guide for the full breakdown of what happens after the league phase.

Who do PSG play in the 2026/27 Champions League league phase?

Paris Saint-Germain host Barcelona, Roma, Galatasaray and Slovan Bratislava, and travel to Manchester City, Aston Villa, Villarreal and Como.

Who do Arsenal and Real Madrid play in the 2026/27 Champions League?

Arsenal host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille and Sabah FK, and travel to Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague. Real Madrid host Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig and LASK, and travel to Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and AEK Athens.

When does the 2026/27 Champions League season start?

Matchday 1 of the league phase runs from 8 to 10 September 2026.

When and where is the 2027 Champions League final?

The final is scheduled for 5 June 2027 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.

Who won the Champions League in 2025/26?

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in Budapest, their second straight title after beating Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2024/25 final.