What time is Champions League draw today? Confirmed pots, TV channel and how it works

The League Phase returns as five English teams aim to dethrone PSG

Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

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The Champions League draw takes centre stage this afternoon and five Premier League teams will be involved.

English champions Arsenal and runners-up Manchester City are joined by Manchester United and fifth-placed finishers Liverpool, while Aston Villa are back in the competition as Europa League holders as well as finishing fourth last season.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal on penalties in last season’s final and have strengthened during the summer to ensure they are the favourites to win European club football’s biggest prize for a third season in a row.

The Gunners are expected to pose the biggest threat to PSG’s crown, followed by Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid - now managed by Jose Mourinho for a second time.

Here’s everything you need to know about the League Phase draw...

When is the Champions League draw?

The draw for the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League will take place today, Thursday, August 27, 2026 from 5pm BST.

The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco will host the event.

Arsenal will hope to go one step better than last season

Getty

How to watch the Champions League draw

TV channel: The draw will be shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1. Coverage starts at 5pm BST and the draw will commence shortly after.

Live stream: TNT Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the HBO Max app and website

UEFA.com and the TNT Sports YouTube channel will also show proceedings live for free.

LIVE blog: Follow the draw with Standard Sport’s live blog.

Champions League draw pots

All 36 qualified clubs will be divided into four pots of nine based on their club coefficients at the start of the season.

The pots were confirmed on Wednesday evening following the play-off ties.

Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Man City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid

Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis, PSV Eindhoven

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Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Fenerbahce, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray

Pot 4: Slavia Prague, Slovan Bratislava, Stuttgart, AEK Athens, LASK, Como, Lens, Viking, Sabah

Back at Europe’s top table: Manchester United

AFP via Getty Images

How does the Champions League draw work?

Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase. They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away.

To determine the eight different opponents, the teams will initially be ranked in four seeding pots.

Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.

When will the Champions League fixtures be played?

Matchday 1: September 8-10, 2026

Matchday 2: October 13/14, 2026

Matchday 3: October 20/21, 2026

Matchday 4: November 3/4, 2026

Matchday 5: November 24/25, 2026

Matchday 6: December 8/9, 2026

Matchday 7: January 19/20, 2026

Matchday 8: January 27, 2026

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