The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League draw is approaching, and most of the four pots for the league phase can already be outlined.
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What Are the Pots for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League Draw?
The 36 teams in the Champions League league phase will be divided into four pots of nine clubs, with the final composition to be confirmed by UEFA ahead of the August 27 draw.
There are currently 29 teams with places in the 36-team league phase. The remaining seven will be determined through the Champions League play-offs, whose second legs will be played on Tuesday, August 25 and Wednesday, August 26.
How Are the Champions League Pots Determined?
The 36 clubs participating in the league phase will be divided into four pots of nine teams.
According to UEFA's 2026/27 competition regulations, the pots are determined by the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season. There is one exception: the reigning Champions League titleholder is automatically the top seed in Pot 1.
Based on the teams already qualified and their coefficients, the current composition is:
Pot 1: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray.
Pot 4: Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Como and Lens.
How Does the Draw Work?
Being in Pot 1 does not mean avoiding the other strongest teams.
Every club will play eight different opponents during the league phase: two teams from each of the four pots, including its own. Against each pot, one match will be played at home and another away.
For example, a Pot 1 club will face two other Pot 1 teams, two from Pot 2, two from Pot 3 and two from Pot 4.
In principle, teams from the same national association cannot face each other during the league phase. A club can also be drawn against a maximum of two opponents from any other single association.
When Is the Champions League Draw?
The draw will take place in Monaco on Thursday, August 27 at 18:00 CET.
Twenty-nine clubs qualified directly for the league phase, while the remaining seven places come through qualifying. The final play-off second legs on August 25 and 26 will therefore complete the 36-team field.
The league phase itself begins on September 8 and runs until January 27, 2027, with every club playing four home matches and four away.
Until UEFA officially publishes the seedings on August 27, any complete list circulating of Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 should therefore be considered provisional rather than definitive.
