Real Madrid Drew Arsenal and Barcelona Drew Paris Saint-Germain as the Champions League League Phase Was Made in Monaco
Thirty-six clubs, eight matches each, one table. The draw at the Grimaldi Forum on 27 August put the holders against Barcelona and Manchester City, and sent Arsenal back to Real Madrid.
The 2026-27 Champions League league phase was drawn at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco at 18:00 CET on 27 August. Thirty-six clubs sit in one table, each playing eight matches, four at home and four away, two against opponents from each of the four pots.
The top seeds
Pot 1 was Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
Paris Saint-Germain arrive as holders. Luis Enrique's side beat Arsenal on penalties in last season's final and a third straight title would be the first in the competition's history.
Some of the ties that came out
| Club | Notable opponents drawn |
|---|---|
| Real Madrid | Arsenal, Inter Milan, Roma, RB Leipzig |
| Arsenal | Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Dortmund |
| Barcelona | Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Sporting |
| Manchester City | Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Napoli, Porto |
| Liverpool | Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Porto, Club Brugge |
Two restrictions shaped the top of the draw. Liverpool could not be drawn at home to Real Madrid, having hosted them at Anfield in each of the past two seasons, and Arsenal could not be drawn away to Inter Milan at San Siro for the same reason.
The calendar
The league phase runs from September 2026 to January 2027. Matchday one is 8 to 10 September 2026 and matchday eight is 27 January 2027. The final is on 5 June 2027 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.
Barcelona come into it after heavy summer spending and are being described as making their first serious title bid in twelve years. Liverpool qualified as a Premier League entrant from outside the top four.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash prices the league phase as a table rather than as groups - match result, both teams to score, correct score, Asian handicap and totals on every fixture, plus top eight finish, qualification to the knockout play-off and outright winner markets that update after each matchday. European kick-offs land late in the Southeast Asian night, and live in-play pricing runs through them.
Draw details, pot composition, format and calendar as published by UEFA and Sky Sports. Home and away designations for individual fixtures were not consistent across the reports checked and should be read against the official UEFA fixture list. Correct at the time of writing on 28 August 2026.