UEFA has confirmed the 36 clubs that will feature in this season’s Champions League ahead of Thursday’s draw in Monaco, where Europe’s elite will discover their opponents in the competition’s new league-style format.
Under the system, each team will play eight games — facing two opponents from each seeding pot, one at home and one away. Clubs cannot meet sides from their own country and can only face a maximum of two teams from any single nation.
Projected Pots
Pot 1: Paris St Germain, 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 Eindhoven, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille.
Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union SG, Qarabag, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle United, Pafos, Kairat.
The league phase kicks off between September 16 and 18, with the top eight teams advancing directly to the round of 16. Sides finishing ninth to 24th will contest play-offs to secure the remaining places.
This season will culminate on May 30, 2026, with the final at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna.
