Champions League: guide to the League Phase draw

Following a winning league debut, the moment to discover Inter’s European path in the new season also draws closer. The new edition of the UEFA Champions League will be uncovered on Thursday 27 August at 18:00 in Montecarlo, where the draw of the League Phase 2026/27 will take place. 

It’s the third edition where the biggest European competition will be structured into the format of one single round, inaugurated in the 2024/25 season. The 36 qualified teams will be placed into one single league table, giving rise to the League Phase.

Inter gained access to the first phase of the competition with their Scudetto 2025/26 victory: for the ninth consecutive year the Nerazzurri will be protagonists in the Champions League. 29 teams have already qualified for the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League: the seven winning teams of the playoffs will be added throughout the course of the week.

THE DRAW RULES

The draw will be conducted partly manually and partly automatically using software. 36 balls will be prepared, each containing the name of one of the teams taking part in the draw. The 36 balls will be divided into different containers according to the pot their respective teams are in. The draw will begin with the teams in Pot 1: a ball will be drawn, the name of the selected team will then be revealed, and the software will automatically select eight different opponents, two from each pot, while also determining which matches will be played at home and which away. The procedure will be repeated for every team from Pot 1 through to Pot 4.

The draw rules remain unchanged from previous seasons:

• Each team will face two teams from each of the four pots, with one match at home and one away

• Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other (e.g. Inter cannot face another Italian team)

• Each team can face no more than two opponents from the same association (e.g. Inter can face a maximum of two English teams, or two teams from any other country)

The 2026/27 edition will be the third consecutive Champions League season to feature the single-table League Phase format. As a result, for the first time since its introduction, a rule that could not previously come into effect will now apply:

• The same fixture cannot be played with the same team at home in the same competition for three consecutive seasons

This means that two teams who have already played the same fixture in each of the first two editions of the new Champions League format cannot meet at the same stadium again in 2026/27. The rule directly affects Inter: the Nerazzurri have hosted Arsenal at San Siro in each of the last two League Phases. Therefore, should the Italian champions be drawn against the English champions, the match could only be played in London, at Arsenal's home ground.

UCL 2026/27: THE TEAMS

The 36 participating teams are divided into four bands based on their own coefficient ranking. 

POT ONE Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) Bayern Monaco (GER) Real Madrid (ESP) Liverpool (ENG) INTER (ITA) Manchester City (ENG) Arsenal (ENG) Barcellona (ESP) Atletico Madrid (ESP)

POT TWO Borussia Dortmund (GER) Roma (ITA) Sporting Lisbona (POR) Aston Villa (ENG) Porto (POR) Manchester United (ENG) Club Brugge (BEL) Real Betis (ESP) PSV Eindhoven (NED)

POT THREE Feyenoord (NED) Lille (FRA) Bodø/Glimt (NOR) Napoli (ITA) RB Lipsia (GER) Villarreal (ESP) Fenerbahce (TUR) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) Galatasaray (TUR)

POT FOUR Slavia Praga (CZE) Slovan Bratislava (SVK) Stoccarda (GER) AEK Atene (GRE) LASK (AUT) Como (ITA) Lens (FRA) Viking (NOR) Sabah (AZE)

PLAY-OFFS Tuesday 25 August Sabah (AZE) 5-2 Hapoel Beer Sheva (ISR) (first leg 1-2) Bodø/Glimt (NOR) 3-0 NEC Nijmegen (NED) (first leg 3-1) LASK (AUT) 5-1 Celtic (SCO) (first leg 0-3)

Wednesday 26 August AEK (GRE) 4-0 Levski Sofia (BUL), at 21:00 (first leg 0-0) Lyon (FRA) 1-2 FENERBAHCE, at 21:00 (first leg 1-1) Viking (NOR) 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb (CRO), at 21:00 (first leg 2-2) Celje (SLO) 1-2 Slovan Bratislava (SVK), at 21:00 (first leg 1-1)

LEAGUE PHASE 

The teams will play eight matches against eight different teams, four at home and four away. The results will contribute to one single league table which contains all 36 teams: the first eight will move directly onto the round of 16; the teams positioned between 9th and 24th place will play one more round to progress to the round of 16; the other ones will be eliminated.

THE DATES

The first matchday of the League Phase of the competition will take place between 8 and 10 September 2026, whilst the eighth and final matchday will be 27 January 2027.

Here are all the dates of the League Phase for the next UEFA Champions League: UCL League Phase Matchday 1: 8-10 September 2026 UCL League Phase Matchday 2: 13-14 October 2026 UCL League Phase Matchday 3: 20-21 October 2026 UCL League Phase Matchday 4: 3-4 November 2026 UCL League Phase Matchday 5: 24-25 November 2026 UCL League Phase Matchday 6: 8-9 December 2026 UCL League Phase Matchday 7: 19-20 January 2027 UCL League Phase Matchday 8: 27 January 2027

After the playoffs, which will be played 16-17 February (home) and 23-24 February (away), the final draw will be held, which will determine the pairings for the round of 16 and the rest of the knockout bracket.

Playoffs: 16-17 February (first leg) and 23-24 February (second leg) Round of 16: 9-10 March (first leg) and 16-17 March (second leg) Quarter-finals: 6-7 April (first leg) and 13-14 April (second leg) Semi-finals: 27-28 April (first leg) and 4-5 May (second leg) Final: Saturday 5 June

The final of the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 will be played on Saturday 5 June at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.