Champions League draw 2026/27: UAE time, pots, new rules and key details

The 2026/27 Champions League league phase draw takes place today, Thursday, August 27, at 8pm UAE time, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

The Europa League and Conference League draws will take place a day later, on Friday, August 28.

How does the Champions League draw work?

A total of 36 teams will compete in the league phase and they have been divided into four pots of nine based on their UEFA club coefficients.

Each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents, facing two clubs from each pot. Four matches will be at home and four away.

The clubs will be drawn manually before UEFA's automated system determines their eight opponents and whether each fixture will be played at home or away.

Teams from the same country cannot face each other during the league phase.

Champions League draw pots

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

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

Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce

Pot 4: Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, LASK, Como, Lens, Sabah, Viking, Slovan Bratislava, AEK Athens

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are all in Pot 1, while Manchester United and Europa League winners Aston Villa are in Pot 2.

Como (Italy), Sabah (Azerbaijan), LASK (Austria), Viking (Norway) and Slovan Bratislava (slovakia) are among the Champions League debutants in Pot 4.

Is there a new rule for the draw?

There is an additional restriction for the 2026/27 season. The same league phase fixture, with the same team playing at home, cannot happen for a third consecutive season.

The rule affects Arsenal and Liverpool. Arsenal have played away to Inter in each of the previous two league phases, meaning they cannot travel to San Siro to face Inter again this time.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have hosted Real Madrid in each of the previous two seasons. Therefore, another Liverpool vs Real Madrid league phase game at Anfield cannot be drawn this season.

When will the Champions League fixtures be announced?

The draw will determine the opponents, but supporters will have to wait a little longer for the complete schedule.

UEFA is expected to confirm all match dates and kick off times by Saturday, August 29.

The league phase begins on Tuesday, September 8, with the final round taking place on Wednesday, January 27, when all 36 teams will be in action simultaneously.

Football fans simply can't wait for the spectacle to begin.