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Football fans will finally discover the matchups for this season’s UEFA Champions League on Thursday, 28 August 2025. The official draw is set for 16:00 GMT at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, where all 36 qualified clubs will find out their eight opponents for the first stage of the tournament.
This is only the second year of the competition’s new league format, which has replaced the traditional group stage. Under this format, all teams compete in one big league table. Each club will play eight games in total, four at home and four away.
Teams are selected from four pots based on their UEFA ranking. Each side faces two opponents from each pot. Clubs from the same country cannot be drawn against one another, and no team can play more than two sides from the same league in this round.
The league stage will run from 16 September 2025 to 28 January 2026. The top eight teams will qualify straight to the knockout round, while those placed between 9th and 24th will play two-legged playoffs in February.
Currently, 32 teams have secured their places, with four more to be decided in the final qualifying rounds.
Champions League
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Pot 1: Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter Milan
Pot 2: Arsenal, Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham (TBC)
Pot 3: Napoli, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Sporting CP, Marseille
Pot 4: Newcastle, Galatasaray, Monaco, Union Saint-Gilloise, Pafos (Cyprus), Kairat (Kazakhstan)
There are four more teams yet to qualify. They are in action tonight in the final play-off games.
Key Dates
League Phase: 16 Sep 2025 – 28 Jan 2026
Playoffs: 17/18 & 24/25 Feb 2026
Round of 16: 8/10 & 11/17 Mar 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 Apr 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 Apr & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026, Budapest
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The Champions League promises thrilling fixtures right from the start, with both underdogs and giants vying for European glory.