Thursday’s Big Draw Shapes Europe’s Road

The Champions League league phase draw arrives on Thursday, and the 36 qualified clubs will finally learn their eight opponents for the new campaign. It is the moment when the schedule starts to feel real, and every contender gets a first look at the path ahead.

Paris Saint-Germain enter as the reigning champions after beating Arsenal in Budapest in May, which only raises the stakes for everyone else in the field. With the modern format still fresh, this draw carries more intrigue than the old group-stage setup ever did.

When the draw begins

The league phase draw takes place on Thursday, August 27, and it is scheduled to start at 5:00 PM BST. Fans across Europe will be watching closely as the bracketless format begins to unfold.

What makes this format different

The competition no longer uses the classic four-team group model. Instead, each club now gets a distinct set of eight fixtures, which creates a far wider range of possible outcomes and matchups.

That change means no two teams will have the exact same route through the league phase. The draw is built to produce variety, balance, and plenty of immediate talking points.

The pots at a glance

The clubs are divided into four pots based on ranking and qualification path. Here is the full lineup before the draw:

Pot 1

• Paris Saint-Germain
• Bayern Munich
• Real Madrid
• Liverpool
• Inter Milan
• Manchester City
• Arsenal
• Barcelona
• Atletico Madrid

Pot 2

• Borussia Dortmund
• Roma
• Sporting
• Aston Villa
• Porto
• Manchester United
• Club Brugge
• Real Betis
• PSV Eindhoven

Pot 3

• Feyenoord
• Lille
• Bodo/Glimt
• Napoli
• RB Leipzig
• Villarreal
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Galatasaray
• Winner of Fenerbahce vs Lyon

Pot 4

• Winner of Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking
• Winner of Slovan Bratislava vs Celje
• Slavia Prague
• VfB Stuttgart
• LASK
• Winner of Levski Sofia vs AEK Athens
• Como
• Lens
• Sabah

How the draw is carried out

Each club is paired with two opponents from every pot, giving every participant a total of eight matches. The process moves through the pots one by one until all fixtures are assigned.

There is one clear restriction: clubs cannot be drawn against another team from their own country. Beyond that, the possibilities are wide open, which is why the draw often produces both difficult stretches and favorable runs.

For supporters, that means Thursday is more than a ceremony. It is the first real clue about travel, intensity, and how demanding the months ahead may become.