Champions League draw: pots, opponents and rules | OneFootball

The draw for the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League will take place today at 18:00 CEST in Montecarlo. The start of the new season is approaching, and so is the beginning of the new edition of the UEFA Champions League. Following the debut of the new format in 2024/25, Europe’s premier competition will once again kick off this year under the rules introduced last season, with a League Phase featuring 36 teams.

At the moment, 29 teams have already qualified for the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League: Inter secured their place in the first phase of the competition thanks to their league position in the 2024/25 season. The seven remaining spots will be decided through the playoffs.

UCL 2025/26: THE POTS

Pot one Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) Real Madrid (ESP) Man City (ENG) Bayern München (GER) Liverpool (ENG) Inter (ITA) Chelsea (ENG) Borussia Dortmund (GER) Barcelona (ESP)

Pot two Arsenal (ENG) Bayer Leverkusen (GER) Atletico de Madrid (ESP) Benfica (POR) Atalanta (ITA) Villarreal (ESP) Juventus (ITA) Frankfurt (GER) Club Brugge (BEL)

Pot three Tottenham (ENG) PSV Eindhoven (NED) Ajax (NED) Napoli (ITA) Sporting CP (POR) Olympiacos (GRE) Slavia Praha (CZE) Bodø/Glimt (NOR) Marseille (FRA)

Pot four FC Copenhagen (DEN) AS Monaco (FRA) Galatasaray (TUR) Union SG (BEL) Qarabağ (AZE) Athletic Club (ESP) Newcastle (ENG) Pafos (CYP) Kairat Almaty (KAZ)

THE DRAW

The 36 teams are divided into four pots based on their coefficient ranking. The reigning Champions League winners will be in pot one.

The draw will be done physically for the first pot, before allowing for the automatic software to be used to dra eight opponents for each team, according to the following rules:

La stessa procedura verrà ripetuta per tutte le altre squadre fino a quando non saranno stati sorteggiati tutti gli accoppiamenti The same procedure is repeated for all of the other teams until the end.

The schedule for the UEFA Champions League with the dates and times of the matches will be made official on 30 August.

LEAGUE PHASE

Each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents (four at home and four away). The results form a single league table encompassing all 36 teams. The clubs ranked one to eight at the end of the League Phase qualify for the round of 16. The clubs ranked nine to 24 qualify for the knockout phase play-offs. The clubs ranked 25 to 36 are eliminated.

THE DATES

The UEFA Champions League calendar will be announced on Saturday 30 August.

The League Phase will kick off on 16 September, while the eighth and final matchday will take place on 28 January 2026. Here are all the dates for the League Phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League:

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

After the knockout phase playoffs, drawn on 30 January 2026 and played on 17-18 February (first leg) and 24-25 February (second leg), the final draw will be held on 27 February 2026 to determine the round of 16 pairings as well as the rest of the knockout bracket.

As for the final stages of the tournament, the round of 16 will be played on 10-11 March (first leg) and 17-18 March (second leg), while the quarter-finals are scheduled for 7-8 April and 14-15 April. The semi-finals will take place on 28-29 April (first leg) and 5-6 May (second leg).

The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League final will be played on Saturday 30 May at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest.

PLAYOFF RESULTS

First-leg: Ferencvaros (HUN) 1-3 Qarabag (AZE) Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 1-2 Pafos (CYP) Rangers (SCO) 1-3 Club Brugge (BEL) FC Basel (SUI) 1-1 FC Kobenhavn (DEN) Bodø/Glimt (NOR) 5-0 Sturm Graz (AUT) Celtic (SCO) 0-0 Kairat Almaty (KAZ) Fenerbahce (TUR) 0-0 Benfica (POR)

Second-leg: Kairat Almaty (KAZ) 0-0 Celtic (SCO) - (FT: 0-0; Kairat Almaty won 3-2 on penalties, qualified) Sturm Graz (AUT) 2-1 Bodø/Glimt (NOR) - (FT: 2-6; Bodø/Glimt qualified) Pafos (CYP) 1-1 Stella Rossa (SRB) - (FT: 3-2: Pafos qualified) Qarabag (AZE) 2-3 Ferencvaros (HUN) - (FT: 5-4; Qarabag qualified) FC København (DEN) 2-0 FC Basel (SUI) - (FT: 3-1; Copenhagen qualified) Club Brugge (BEL) 2-0 Rangers (SCO) - (FT: 9-1; Club Brugge qualified) Benfica (POR) 1-0 Fenerbahce (TUR) - (FT: 1-0; Benfica qualified)