The draw for the 2026-27 Champions League league phase is set to take place Thursday evening in Monaco, with five English clubs awaiting their group stage assignments. Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal have secured positions in the competition’s highest-ranked pot alongside Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.
The revamped competition will feature 36 teams competing in a league phase format, with each club playing eight matches—four at home and four away. Teams are divided into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficient rankings, and each team will face two opponents from each pot. Crucially, clubs cannot be drawn against opponents from their own country.
Aston Villa and Manchester United, both returning to European competition after missing last season’s edition, have been placed in the second pot alongside Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis, and PSV Eindhoven. The eight-match format determines advancement, with the top eight teams progressing directly to the last 16, teams ranked ninth through 24th entering a playoff knockout round, and those finishing 25th or lower exiting the competition.
Originally reported by Sports.yahoo →
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