Champions League draw 2025/26 brings six English clubs and debutants

The Champions League returns with a new twist, and it all begins with the league phase draw on Thursday, August 28, 2025, in Monaco. The Grimaldi Forum, long the setting for UEFA’s season-opening ceremonies, will once again host the moment when Europe’s elite discover their autumn opponents.

Fans around the world can follow the ceremony live on UEFA’s official website and YouTube channel, with television coverage on networks such as Paramount+ in the United States and TNT Sports in the UK. The draw begins at 6 p.m. CET, 12 p.m. in New York, and millions are expected to tune in.

This will be the second season under UEFA’s “league phase,” a radical shift from the familiar group stage. Instead of 32 clubs split into eight groups, 36 teams are placed into one table. Each plays eight matches, four at home and four away, against eight different opponents. There are no rematches, and no neatly packaged “groups of death.” Some ask: Who has a screen big enough to follow a 36-team table?

A new era of matchups

The mechanics are designed to maximize variety. Teams are sorted into four pots of nine based on UEFA’s club coefficients, with the defending champions Paris Saint-Germain taking the top spot in Pot 1. Fans have been quick to tease PSG, pointing out that after years of falling short, they finally won Europe’s top prize and now sit as the competition’s official pace-setters.

During the draw, each team will be paired with two opponents from each pot, one home and one away. Clubs from the same country are kept apart, and no team can face more than two opponents from the same league. That means every top-seeded side will run into two peers before January. For fans, it means the chance to see Arsenal against Bayern, or City against Madrid, in September instead of waiting for the spring.

At the other end of the table, the format raises the stakes. The top eight advance straight to the Round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th must fight through a two-leg playoff in February. Fall to 25th or lower and the season in Europe is over. So is finishing 23rd is still considered a “successful” Champions League run? That’s all up to interpretation, of course.

This is also the first season any country has sent six clubs. City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, and Tottenham represent the Premier League. It appears that the competition is turning into “England plus guests.” For smaller clubs, the expansion opens new doors. Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise will be making their Champions League debut from Pot 4, quickly gaining a cult following online as “everyone’s second team.”

Reactions to the format remain split. Purists miss the old group stage and the possibility of a true “group of death.” Coaches, however, see new incentives. Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone put it bluntly: “This format forces us to win.” The difference between eighth and ninth place, or 24th and 25th, now means everything.

The league phase begins September 16–18 and runs until late January. The final takes place on May 30, 2026, at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. Between those dates lies a packed calendar and a competition reinventing itself on the fly. Whether fans grow to love the league table or simply keep asking about the 23rd-place finish, the Champions League is entering a new era with more storylines than ever.