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2026–27 Champions League Draw: League Phase Games in Full
The draw for the Champions League in Monaco on Thursday served up a mouth-watering set of fixtures.
Manchester United made their return to the grandest stage of club soccer for the first time since the competition’s reformatting after a third-placed Premier League finish under Michael Carrick last season. The Red Devils were rewarded with ties against the likes of Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
Back-to-back champions Paris Saint-Germain have made relatively slow starts to both seasons which ended in the ultimate glory. Luis Enrique’s side notably finished outside the top eight in each of the past two campaigns and they may well struggle for automatic progression into the round of 16 after being drawn with Barcelona and Manchester City.
Arsenal, who lost so narrowly on penalties to PSG last May, boasted a perfect league phase record in 2025–26. In fact, the Gunners have won their previous 12 matches at this stage of the competition, a glittering record which the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will be trying to ruin.
The most successful club in Champions League history, Real Madrid, will not be playing Manchester City for once (in the league phase at least). Instead, they’ve got the Gunners, as well as the Serie A duo of Inter and Roma.
Some of the most interesting ties involve Cesc Fàbregas’s Como. The former Barcelona midfielder is set to return to Camp Nou in the league phase while the Serie A upstarts also host Manchester United and PSG.
Pot 1 Teams
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Home: Barcelona, Roma, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava
- Away: Manchester City, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Como
- Bayern Munich
- Home: Arsenal, Real Betis, Bodø/Glimt, Slavia Praha
- Away: Atlético Madrid, Manchester United, Lille, Viking
- Real Madrid
- Home: Inter, PSV, RB Leipzig, LASK
- Away: Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, AEK Athens
- Liverpool
- Home: Atlético Madrid, Porto, Villarreal, Lens
- Away: Inter, Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, LASK
- Inter
- Home: Liverpool, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart
- Away: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava
- Manchester City
- Home: PSG, Sporting, Napoli, AEK Athens
- Away: Barcelona, Porto, RB Leipzig, Lens
- Arsenal
- Home: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, Sabah
- Away: Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli, Slavia Praha
- Barcelona
- Home: Manchester City, Aston Villa, Feyenoord, Como
- Away: PSG, Sporting, Galatasaray, Sabah
- Atlético Madrid
- Home: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Fenerbahçe, Viking
- Away: Liverpool, PSV, Bodø/Glimt, Stuttgart
Pot 2 Teams
Manchester United are back on the big stage. pic.twitter.com/hzTUmo7q2y
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) May 3, 2026
- Borussia Dortmund
- Home: Inter, Real Betis, Villarreal, AEK Athens
- Away: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bodø/Glimt, Sabah
- Roma
- Home: Real Madrid, Sporting, Lille, Slovan Bratislava
- Away: PSG, Manchester United, Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens
- Sporting CP
- Home: Barcelona, Manchester United, Galatasaray, LASK
- Away: Manchester City, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lens
- Aston Villa
- Home: PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbahçe, Viking
- Away: Barcelona, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Slavia Praha
- Porto
- Home: Manchester City, PSV, Napoli, Slavia Praha
- Away: Liverpool, Real Betis, Feyenoord, LASK
- Manchester United
- Home: Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig, Sabah
- Away: Atlético Madrid, Sporting, Villarreal, Como
- Club Brugge
- Home: Liverpool, Aston Villa, Bodø/Glimt, Lens
- Away: Inter, PSV, Napoli, Stuttgart
- Real Betis
- Home: Arsenal, Porto, Feyenoord, Como
- Away: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, Slovan Bratislava
- PSV Eindhoven
- Home: Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart
- Away: Real Madrid, Porto, RB Leipzig, Viking
Pot 3 Teams
- Feyenoord
- Home: Inter, Porto, RB Leipzig, Como
- Away: Barcelona, Real Betis, Galatasaray, Viking
- Lille
- Home: Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava
- Away: Arsenal, Roma, Bodø/Glimt, Stuttgart
- Bodø/Glimt
- Home: Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, LASK
- Away: Bayern Munich, Club Brugge, Napoli, Lens
- Napoli
- Home: Arsenal, Club Brugge, Bodø/Glimt, Viking
- Away: Manchester City, Porto, Villarreal, Sabah
- RB Leipzig
- Home: Manchester City, PSV, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lens
- Away: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Feyenoord, Como
- Villarreal
- Home: PSG, Manchester United, Napoli, Sabah
- Away: Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbahçe, Slavia Praha
- Fenerbahçe
- Home: Liverpool, Roma, Villarreal, Slavia Praha
- Away: Atlético Madrid, Aston Villa, Shakhtar Donetsk, LASK
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Home: Real Madrid, Sporting, Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens
- Away: Inter, PSV, RB Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava
- Galatasaray
- Home: Barcelona, Aston Villa, Feyenoord, Stuttgart
- Away: PSG, Sporting, Lille, AEK Athens
Pot 4 Teams
Como touch the stars. The lake will host Champions League football next season. pic.twitter.com/tnIcw36fQR
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) May 24, 2026
- Slavia Praha
- Home: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Lens
- Away: Bayern Munich, Porto, Fenerbahçe, Sabah
- Slovan Bratislava
- Home: Inter, Real Betis, Shakhtar Donetsk, Stuttgart
- Away: PSG, Roma, Lille, LASK
- Stuttgart
- Home: Atlético Madrid, Club Brugge, Lille, Viking
- Away: Inter, PSV, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava
- AEK Athens
- Home: Real Madrid, Roma, Galatasaray, LASK
- Away: Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk, Como
- LASK
- Home: Liverpool, Porto, Fenerbahçe, Slovan Bratislava
- Away: Real Madrid, Sporting, Bodø/Glimt, AEK Athens
- Como
- Home: PSG, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens
- Away: Barcelona, Real Betis, Feyenoord, Lens
- Lens
- Home: Manchester City, Sporting, Bodø/Glimt, Como
- Away: Liverpool, Club Brugge, RB Leipzig, Slavia Praha
- Viking
- Home: Bayern Munich, PSV, Feyenoord, Sabah
- Away: Atlético Madrid, Aston Villa, Napoli, Stuttgart
- Sabah
- Home: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Slavia Praha
- Away: Arsenal, Manchester United, Villarreal, Viking
When Does the 2026–27 Champions League League Phase Start?
There’s not long to wait until the competition proper gets underway. As has become tradition, the Champions League will swallow up an entire midweek to kickstart the league phase, with the first round of 18 fixtures split across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the second week of September.
The subsequent rounds of action are staggered throughout October, November and December before the competition comes to an elongated hiatus at the turn of the year. While the group stage of the previous format would traditionally conclude before Christmas, there are still two rounds of league phase games to be played in January.
In an attempt to avoid any type of cynical coalitions, all 36 teams kick off at the exact same time on the eighth and final matchday of Jan. 27, 2027.
League Phase Matchday | Date |
|---|---|
1 | Sept. 8–10, 2026 |
2 | Oct. 13–14, 2026 |
3 | Oct. 20–21, 2026 |
4 | Nov. 3–4, 2026 |
5 | Nov. 24–25, 2026 |
6 | Dec. 8–9, 2026 |
7 | Jan. 19–20, 2027 |
8 | Jan. 27, 2027 |
Champions League Quiz
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Grey Whitebloom is an Associate Editor for SI FC. He has more than half a decade of experience in sports media across all its various guises, from the fast-paced demands of news articles and match reports to in-depth research required for features. Whitebloom graduated with a First Class Honours from University College London and found himself named on the Dean’s List—which, despite his initial fears, was a form of praise rather than a punishment. He specialises in the Premier League and Champions League, while also boasting an extensive track record of La Liga coverage.