When is the Champions League draw and how does it work?

The league phase draw for the 2026/27 Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco and here is everything you need to know before it gets started.How does the league phase draw work?A total of 36 teams will enter the competition at this stage after 29 qualified at the end of last season. The remaining seven places will be determined by the qualifiers. In the new format, which is entering its third season since being implemented, teams now play fixtures against eight different teams - two teams from Pots 1, 2, 3 and 4. Half of the eight league-phase matches are at home, with the other half away.Got Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺The draw is done by a supercomputer which automatically selects the eight opponents by one touch of a button. Who is in each pot?While seven places via qualifiers are yet to be determined, 29 teams have been confirmed and their pots have been allocated and it is based on UEFA's club coefficient rankings, which reflects results in European competitions across a five-year period ending in 2025/26. Back-to-back champions Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are in Pot 1. More from Football Best ever in the EFL: Was Dom Ballard's backheel the greatest of all-time? Tranmere Rovers' Bobby Faulkner goes in goal and keeps a clean sheet to secure a draw! Man Utd transfer news, rumours and gossip: Live updates and latest on deals, signings, loans and contracts Xabi Alonso: New Chelsea manager on Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and working on 'soul' of the Blues West Ham: How damaging was Hammers' defeat to Charlton? Leeds United transfer news, rumours and gossip: Live updates and latest on deals, signings, loans and contracts Manchester United and Europa League winners Aston Villa, two clubs making their return to Europe's elite competition, have been placed in Pot 2.If Bodo/Glimt beat NEC Nijmegen, with the Norwegian side holding a 3-1 on aggregate heading into the second leg of the qualifier, they will go into Pot 3. The remaining teams - including Celtic if they beat LASK - will then go into Pot 4.Pot 1PSGBayern MunichReal MadridLiverpoolInter MilanManchester CityArsenalBarcelonaAtletico MadridPot 2Aston VillaManchester UnitedBorussia DortmundRomaSportingPortoClub BruggePSV EindhovenReal BetisPot 3FeyenoordLilleNapoliRB LeipzigVillarrealShakhtar DonetskGalatasarayWinner of Fenerbahce vs LyonPot 3 or 4Winner of NEC Nijmegen vs Bodo/GlimtWinner of Dinamo Zagreb vs VikingWinner of Celtic vs LASKSlavia PraguePot 4Winner of Slovan Bratislava vs CeljeVfB StuttgartWinner of Levski Sofia vs AEK AthensComoLensWinner of Hapoel Be'er Sheva vs SabahWho qualifies for the knockout rounds?The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while teams finishing 25th or lower are eliminated and do not drop into the Europa League.The teams finishing in ninth to 24th place compete in a two-legged knockout-phase play-off. Teams finishing between ninth and 16th are seeded, meaning they will face a team in 17th-24th with the return leg at home.The eight clubs who win their knockout-phase play-off each meet one of the seeded top-eight finishers in the league-phase table for a place in the quarter-finals.Champions League league-phase match dates and scheduleMatchday 1: September 8-10Matchday 2: October 13/14Matchday 3: October 20/21Matchday 4: November 3/4Matchday 5: November 24/25Matchday 6: December 8/9Matchday 7: January 19/20Matchday 8: January 27Champions League knockout-phase match dates and scheduleThe draw for the two-legged knockout-phase play-offs is yet to be determined.Knockout phase play-offs: February 16/17 and 23/24Round of 16: March 9/10 and 16/17Quarter-finals: April 6/7 and 13/14Semi-finals: April 27/28 and May 4/5Final: June 5When are where is the final?The final will take place at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, on June 5 2027.