Champions League 2026-27 draw: holders Paris Saint-Germain among 36 teams in new league phase

Paris Saint-Germain will begin their defence of the UEFA Champions League title after being included in the draw for the 2026-27 league phase, the third season to be played under the competition’s new format.

A total of 36 teams have qualified for the league phase and will be divided into four pots. The draw will be conducted electronically, with each club set to face two opponents from every pot.

That will give every team eight league-phase matches in total, with four played at home and four away.

At the end of the league phase, the teams will be ranked according to the points they have collected. The top eight sides will qualify directly for the last 16.

Teams finishing from ninth to 16th will enter a play-off against clubs placed from 17th to 24th. Those ties will determine the remaining eight places in the round of 16.

Following another draw, the teams in ninth and 10th will face one of the sides finishing 23rd or 24th, with the same process applying to the other positions.

Four clubs are set to make their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League: Norwegian side Viking, Azerbaijan’s Sabah, Austrian club LASK and Italian team Como.

Viking, Sabah and LASK secured their places through the qualifying play-offs, while Como earned direct qualification for the league phase.

Paris Saint-Germain are the defending champions and have won the competition in each of the previous two seasons.

The draw pots are as follows.

Pot one

Paris Saint-Germain (France), Bayern Munich (Germany), Real Madrid (Spain), Liverpool (England), Inter (Italy), Manchester City (England), Arsenal (England), Barcelona (Spain) and Atletico Madrid (Spain).

Pot two

Aston Villa (England), Manchester United (England), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Roma (Italy), Sporting CP (Portugal), Porto (Portugal), Club Brugge (Belgium), PSV (Netherlands) and Real Betis (Spain).

Pot three

Feyenoord (Netherlands), Lille (France), Bodø/Glimt (Norway), Napoli (Italy), RB Leipzig (Germany), Villarreal (Spain), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Galatasaray (Turkiye) and Fenerbahce (Turkiye).

Pot four

LASK (Austria), Sabah (Azerbaijan), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), VfB Stuttgart (Germany), Como (Italy), Lens (France), Fenerbahce (Turkiye), Viking (Norway), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) and AEK Athens (Greece).

The league-phase format replaces the previous group-stage system. Rather than being placed into groups and playing the same opponents home and away, the 36 qualifiers will compete in one overall league table, with each club receiving a schedule of eight matches drawn from the four pots.