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Champions League draw pots confirmed: Who could your club face?
27th August, 2026 05:00 PM
The 36 teams in the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase have been split into four pots of nine, setting the stage for Thursday’s draw in Monaco.
UEFA announced the confirmed draw pots on Thursday, August 27, 2026, ahead of the ceremony, which begins at 8:00 pm East Africa time (EAT)and will be streamed on UEFA platforms.
Each club will play eight league-phase matches, facing two teams from each pot, with one home and one away fixture.
Same-nation pairings are not permitted in the league phase, while a new rule also prevents the same fixture from being repeated for three consecutive seasons.
The top eight teams in the 36-team standings will advance directly to the last 16, while teams finishing from ninth to 24th will enter the knockout phase play-offs.
Pot 1
Pot 1 features some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including holders Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.
Despite being in the same pot, these clubs can still face two other Pot 1 sides during the league phase.
English clubs in the pot cannot be drawn against one another.
Pot 2
Pot 2 includes Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.
Manchester United and Aston Villa will be among the clubs hoping for favourable pairings after returning to the Champions League.
Pot 3
Pot 3 features Feyenoord, Lille, Bodø/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Fenerbahçe, Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray.
The pot contains several sides capable of causing problems for Europe’s traditional heavyweights, with Turkish, Norwegian and Ukrainian clubs adding further variety.
Pot 4
Pot 4 includes Slavia Prague, Slovan Bratislava, VfB Stuttgart, AEK Athens, LASK, Como, Lens, Viking and Sabah.
For some clubs, reaching the league phase represents a significant milestone. Como and Sabah are among the teams making their first appearance at this stage of the competition.
What it means for Premier League clubs
Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are all in Pot 1, meaning they cannot face each other in the league phase but could be drawn against clubs from Pots 2, 3 and 4.
Manchester United and Aston Villa, meanwhile, are in Pot 2 and could each face two of the competition’s biggest clubs.
The draw will determine eight unique opponents for every team, with the fixture dates and kick-off times expected to be announced by Saturday, August 29.
For Kenyan football fans, the draw begins at 8:00 pm EAT on Thursday, when clubs will discover the opponents they must overcome on the road to the knockout stage.
Author
William Muthama
William Muthama is a digital journalist with a focus on entertainment, human interest, and current affairs. Share stories: [email protected]/ [email protected]
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