It’s only just starting to look, smell and feel like fall outside, which can mean only one thing: The always anticipated draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage league phase is finally here.
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There will be six Premier League clubs in this season’s Champions League — Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur — and all six will have their sights set on reaching the final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30. But first, they must navigate the newly formatted, 8-game league phase to reach the knockout rounds.
So, who will the Premier League’s six contestants be facing in the group stage this season?
Which teams are in this year’s Champions League draw so far?
- Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge
- Pot 3: Tottenham Hotspur, PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille
- Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat
Liverpool’s Champions League draw
Real Madrid (H)
Inter Milan (A)
Atletico Madrid (H)
Eintracht Frankfurt (A)
PSV (H)
Marseille (A)
Qarabag (H)
Galatasaray (A)
Arsenal’s Champions League draw
Bayern Munich (H)
Inter Milan (A)
Atletico Madrid (H)
Club Brugge (A)
Olympiacos (H)
Slavia Prague (A)
Kairat Almaty (H)
Athletic Bilbao (A)
Manchester City’s Champions League draw
Borussia Dortmund (H)
Real Madrid (A)
Bayer Leverkusen (H)
Villarreal (A)
Napoli (H)
Bodo/Glimt (A)
Galatasaray (H)
Monaco (A)
Chelsea’s Champions League draw
Barcelona (H)
Bayern Munich (A)
Benfica (H)
Atalanta (A)
Ajax (H)
Napoli (A)
Pafos (H)
Qarabag (A)
Newcastle’s Champions League draw
Draw is underway.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League draw
Borussia Dortmund (H)
PSG (A)
Villarreal (H)
Eintracht Frankfurt (A)
Slavia Prague (H)
Bodo/Glimt (A)
Copenhagen (H)
Monaco (A)
How does the new Champions League format work, again?
For starters, there are 36 teams that have been split into four pots of nine for the draw (potting assignments are not yet confirmed, until all of qualifying is complete). Everybody will be assigned eight opponents (two from each group) for the upcoming league phase.
Once play begins, all 36 teams will be sorted into a single table. The top 24 will advance to the knockout rounds, with the top eight earning byes from the first round and the remaining 16 sides (next 8 seeded, last 8 unseeded) duking it out for a place in the last 16.
What are the match dates for the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League?
League phase
Matchday 1: September 16-18
Matchday 2: September 30-October 1
Matchday 3: October 21-22
Matchday 4: November 4-5
Matchday 5: November 25-26
Matchday 6: December 9-10
Matchday 7: January 20-21
Matchday 8: January 28
Knockout phase
Knockout playoff round: February 17-18, February 24-25
Round of 16: March 10-11, March 17-18
Quarterfinals: April 7-8, April 14-15
Semifinals: April 28-29, May 5-6
Final: May 30, at Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary
