The pots for the upcoming Champions League league phase draw have been all but confirmed, with a record six Premier League teams taking part this season.
Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Newcastle are among the teams which will take part in the 36-team Champions League league phase during the 2025/26 campaign.
Six-time European champions Liverpool are the second favourites to win this year’s edition of the competition behind current holders Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile, La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are among the favourites to lift the coveted prize come May 2026.
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Last year, the teams played at least two extra games due to the introduction of the 36-team league phase, which replaced the previous format consisting of eight four-team groups.
Now, the top eight teams progress automatically to the knockout stages while the sides placed ninth to 24th will go into a play-off round.
But first, on Thursday, the draw for the league phase will take place in Monaco.
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The 36 participating teams will be divided into four pots. Currently, 32 teams have confirmed their places in the draw, while Qarabag, Ferencvaros, Club Brugge, Rangers, Copenhagen, Fenerbahçe, Basel and Benfica will take part in qualifying later today (August 27).
The pots are determined by UEFA club coefficient. As per UEFA’s website, “the coefficient of each club each season based on the clubs' results in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League. The season coefficients from the five most recent seasons are used to rank the clubs for seeding purposes (sporting club coefficient)”.
So which teams are in each pot?
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Pot one will include PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, alongside Premier League teams Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
Pot two will contain Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus and Eintracht Frankfurt – although the remaining teams are yet to be confirmed.
PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Marseille and Bodo/Glimt make up pot three.
Athletic Club, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Pafos, Kairat Almaty and Newcastle United will be in pot four.
2025/26 Champions League schedule
League phase
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Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025
Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025
Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025
Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025
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Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025
Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025
Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026
Matchday 8: 28 January 2026
Knockout phases
Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026
Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)
Topics: Champions League, Football, Premier League, UEFA, Liverpool, Manchester City
Luke Davies