Reigning, defending European champions PSG will learn the first steps of their Champions League defense this week, when UEFA and the 36 clubs contesting this year’s trophy convene in Monaco for the group stage league phase draw.
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Below are all of the pertinent details ahead of Thursday’s league phase draw…
When is the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League group stage draw?
- Date & time: Thursday, Aug. 28 — 12 pm ET
- Location: Grimaldi Forum — Monaco
- How to watch, stream: Paramount+
Which teams are in this year’s Champions League draw so far?
- Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham Hotspur, PSV
- Pot 3: Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille, Monaco, Galatasaray
- Pot 4: Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat + 4 more still to qualify
How does the new Champions League format work around the draw, again?
For starters, there are 36 teams that have been split into four pots of nine for the draw (potting assignments are not yet confirmed, until all of qualifying is complete). Everybody will be assigned eight opponents (two from each group) for the upcoming league phase.
Once play begins, all 36 teams will be sorted into a single table. The top 24 will advance to the knockout rounds, with the top eight earning byes from the first round and the remaining 16 sides (next 8 seeded, last 8 unseeded) duking it out for a place in the last 16. For a more complete explainer, read here.
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