Champions League draw: Start time, teams and how to watch league phase matches

The Champions League returns next month, and this Thursday sees the league phase draw confirmed with a ceremony in Monaco. Three months on from PSG retaining their title on penalties against Arsenal in Budapest, this season’s competition takes shape, as each of the 36 teams discovers their eight league phase matches. Arsenal, Manchester City , Manchester United , Aston Villa and Liverpool are the English teams involved, with Celtic hoping to make it six British teams by winning their play-off tie against LASK. They won the first leg 3-0. Other big-hitters in pot one include PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Here’s everything you need to know about the Champions League league phase draw. When is the Champions League league phase draw? The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase draw starts at 5pm BST (12pm ET) on Thursday, 27 August. The draw will arrange the eight matches each team contests in the 36-team first phase – facing two teams from pots one, two, three and four. Half of the matches will be at home, the other half away. Where can I watch the draw? The draw will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max in the United Kingdom, the joint host broadcasters in the UK of the Champions League alongside Prime Video. Which teams are in what pots? Pot 1 PSG Bayern Munich Real Madrid Liverpool Inter Milan Manchester City Arsenal Barcelona Atletico Madrid Pot 2 Aston Villa Manchester United Borussia Dortmund Roma Sporting Porto Club Brugge PSV Eindhoven Real Betis Pot 3 Feyenoord Lille Napoli RB Leipzig Villarreal Shakhtar Donetsk Galatasaray Winner of Fenerbahce vs Lyon Pot 3 or 4 Winner of NEC Nijmegen vs Bodo/Glimt Winner of Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking Winner of Celtic vs LASK Slavia Prague Pot 4 Winner of Slovan Bratislava vs Celje VfB Stuttgart Winner of Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens Como Lens Winner of Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs Sabah Who qualifies for the knockout round? The top eight all automatically qualify for the last-16, while teams positioned ninth to 24th place qualify for the knockout-phase play-off. Teams finishing between ninth and 16th will be seeded and will host the second leg. Teams who finish the league phase 25th or lower are out and do not drop into the Europa League. PSG are targeting a third consecutive Champions League title (AP) Champions League dates and schedule Matchday 1: September 8-10 Matchday 2: October 13/14 Matchday 3: October 20/21 Matchday 4: November 3/4 Matchday 5: November 24/25 Matchday 6: December 8/9 Matchday 7: January 19/20 Matchday 8: January 27 Knockout phase play-offs: February 16/17 and 23/24 Round of 16: March 9/10 and 16/17 Quarter-finals : April 6/7 and 13/14 Semi-finals : April 27/28 and May 4/5 Final: June 5 (Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid)