Champions League 2025/26 League Phase Draw & Fixtures
The draw for the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League took place in Monaco on Thursday, marking the second season of the competition’s expanded league format.
This year, 36 clubs will compete in a single league table instead of the traditional group stage. Each team plays eight matches—four at home and four away—against opponents drawn from four seeding pots (two per pot, one home and one away).
🔹 Clubs from the same country cannot face each other.
🔹 No team can be paired with more than two opponents from the same association.
The top eight teams will qualify directly for the round of 16. Teams finishing 9th to 24th will enter a two-legged playoff for the remaining knockout spots, while clubs ranked 25th to 36th are eliminated from Europe.
Of the 36 clubs, 29 qualified automatically via their domestic leagues, while seven earned places through the playoff round.
Pot 1 (Top Seeds)
Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
Pot 2
Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge
Pot 3
Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodø/Glimt, Marseille
Pot 4
Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Club, Newcastle United, Pafos, Kairat Almaty
Example Fixtures
Real Madrid
- Home: Manchester City, Juventus, Marseille, Monaco
- Away: Liverpool, Benfica, Olympiacos, Kairat Almaty
Manchester City
- Home: Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, Galatasaray
- Away: Real Madrid, Villarreal, Bodø/Glimt, Monaco
Liverpool
- Home: Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Qarabag
- Away: Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, Galatasaray
…and so on across all pots.
📅 Match Dates: September 16, 2025 – January 28, 2026
UEFA will release the full match calendar before the weekend.
