When is the Champions League draw, which teams are in, and what are the dates?

The 2026-27 UEFA Champions League is set to begin with 36 teams competing in the league phase, as Europe’s leading clubs prepare to battle for the continent’s biggest prize.

The draw for the league phase will take place on Thursday, August 27, at 6pm local time (17:00 GMT) at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

The event will determine the fixtures for the first stage of the competition, with each club set to face eight different opponents.

The Champions League has used its expanded league-phase format for the third consecutive season.

Instead of the traditional group stage, all 36 teams will compete in one league table.

Each side will play eight matches, with four at home and four away, against two teams from each of the four seeding pots.

Of the 36 teams, 29 qualified automatically through their domestic league positions, while seven places were decided through qualifying rounds.

Bodo/Glimt, LASK and Sabah were among the latest clubs to secure their places, while the final four spots were due to be decided in the remaining qualifying ties.

Among the biggest names in the competition are defending champions Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan.

Manchester United, Aston Villa, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Roma, Porto and Sporting CP are also among the clubs involved.

Pot 1: Features PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Pot 2: Includes Aston Villa, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Porto, Club Brugge, PSV Eindhoven and Real Betis.

Pot 3: Consists of Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Bodo/Glimt and the winner of the remaining league-path tie.

Pot 4: Contains Slavia Prague, VfB Stuttgart, LASK, Como, RC Lens, Sabah and the three remaining winners from the Champions Path.

The league phase will begin in September, with Matchday 1 scheduled for September 8-10.

Matchday 2 follows on October 13-14, before Matchdays 3 and 4 take place on October 20-21 and November 3-4 respectively.

The final four rounds will be played between November and January, with Matchday 8 scheduled for January 27.

The knockout phase will begin with the play-offs on February 16-17 and 23-24.

The round of 16 is scheduled for March 9-10 and 16-17, followed by the quarter-finals on April 6-7 and 13-14.

The semi-finals will be played on April 27-28 and May 4-5.

The 2026-27 Champions League final will be played on June 5 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, the home of Atletico Madrid.

PSG enter the new campaign as defending champions after beating Arsenal on penalties in last season’s final following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

The French club subsequently added another trophy by defeating Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup.