The draw for the Champions League 2025/26 league phase takes place this week.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Club World Cup champions Chelsea, Newcastle and Europa League winners Tottenham will be in the draw, along with holders Paris Saint-Germain.
The Gunners reached the semi-finals last term, losing out to PSG 3-1 on aggregate after thrashing both PSV and Real Madrid before their final four exit.
And Luis Enrique’s side went on to thump Inter Milan 5-0 in the final and have since edged past Spurs on penalties in the Uefa Super Cup earlier this month, denying Thomas Frank a trophy in his first game in charge.
Absent will be Celtic after their play-off round defeat to Kazakhstan’s Kairat, while Rangers face a huge task to come back from 3-1 down in the second leg of their tie against Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Champions League league phase draw:
When is the Champions League draw?
The draw will be held in Monaco on Thursday, 28 August and begins at 6pm BST.
How to watch the Champions League draw
Uefa and TNT Sports will both offer a free live stream on their websites and YouTube channels.
How does the league phase draw work?
The league phase has 36 teams with every team handed eight games. The 36 teams are split into four pots of eight teams based on their Uefa coefficient, with the opponents generated by automated software.
The opponents then come from each pot, with two teams selected from each, one home and one away.
Teams cannot play another team from the same country and are not permitted to face more than two teams from one country.
Those finishing inside the top eight go straight into the last 16, then the next 16 teams advance to the play-off stage, with eight of those 16 teams progressing to the last 16.
Champions League 2025/26 league phase pots
Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt
Pot 2/3: Tottenham
Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille
Pot 4: Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Club, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat
Champions League 2025/26 matchdays
Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025
Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025
Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025
Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025
Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025
Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025
Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026
Matchday 8: 28 January 2026
Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026
Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)
Champions League 2025/26 odds
PSG 5/1
Liverpool 11/2
Barcelona 6/1
Real Madrid 13/2
Arsenal 7/1
Man City 8/1
Bayern Munich 9/1
Chelsea 14/1
Newcastle 18/1
Inter Milan 20/1
Odds via Betfair
