Champions League: guide to the League Phase draw | OneFootball

Following a winning league debut, the moment to discover Inter’s European path in the new season also draws closer. The new edition of the UEFA Champions League will be uncovered on Thursday 27 August at 18:00 in Montecarlo, where the draw of the League Phase 2026/27 will take place. 

It’s the third edition where the biggest European competition will be structured into the format of one single round, inaugurated in the 2024/25 season. The 36 qualified teams will be placed into one single league table, giving rise to the League Phase.

Inter gained access to the first phase of the competition with their Scudetto 2025/26 victory: for the ninth consecutive year the Nerazzurri will be protagonists in the Champions League. 29 teams have already qualified for the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League: the seven winning teams of the playoffs will be added throughout the course of the week.

UCL 2025/26: THE TEAMS

The 36 participating teams will be further divided into four bands based on their own coefficient ranking. 

Bayern Munich (GER) Real Madrid (ESP) Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) Liverpool (ENG) INTER (ITA) Manchester City (ENG) Arsenal (ENG) Barcelona (ESP) Atletico Madrid (ESP) Borussia Dortmund (GER) Roma (ITA) Sporting CP (POR) Aston Villa (ENG) Porto (POR) Manchester United (ENG) Club Brugge (BEL) Real Betis (ESP) PSV Eindhoven (NED) Feyenoord (NED) Lille (FRA) Napoli (ITA) RB Leipzig (GER) Villarreal (ESP) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) Galatasaray (TUR) Slavia Praha (CZE) Stuttgart (GER) Como (ITA) Lens (FRA)

PLAY-OFFS Tuesday 25 August Sabah (AZE) v Hapoel Beer Sheva (ISR), at 18:45 (first leg 1-2) Bodø/Glimt (NOR) v NEC Nijmegen (NED), at 21:00 (first leg 3-1) LASK (AUT) v Celtic (SCO), at 21:00 (first leg 0-3)

Wednesday 26 August AEK (GRE) v Levski Sofia (BUL), at 21:00 (first leg 0-0) Lyon (FRA) v Olympiacos (GRE), at 21:00 (andata 1-1) Viking (NOR) v Dinamo Zaghreb (CRO), at 21:00 (first leg 2-2) Celje (SLO) v Slovan Bratislava (SVK), at 21:00 (first leg 1-1)

LEAGUE PHASE

The teams will play eight matches against eight different teams, four at home and four away. The results will contribute to one single league table which contains all 36 teams: the first eight will move directly onto the round of 16; the teams positioned between 9th and 24th place will play one more round to progress to the round of 16; the other ones will be eliminated.

THE DATES

The first matchday of the League Phase of the competition will take place between 8 and 10 September 2026, whilst the eighth and final matchday will be 27 January 2027. Here are all the dates of the League Phase for the next UEFA Champions League: 1st matchday League Phase UCL: 8-9-10 September 2026 2nd matchday League Phase UCL: 13-14 October 2026 3rd matchday League Phase UCL: 20-21 October 2026 4th matchday League Phase UCL: 3-4 November 2026 5th matchday League Phase UCL: 24-25 November 2026 6th matchday League Phase UCL: 8-9 December 2026 7th matchday League Phase UCL: 19-20 January 2027 8th matchday League Phase UCL: 27 January 2027

After the playoffs, which will be played 16-17 February (home) and 23-24 February (away), the final draw will be held, which will determine the pairings for the round of 16 and the rest of the table.

Playoffs: 16-17 February (home) and 23-24 February (away) Round of 16: 9-10 March (home) and 16-17 March (away) Quarter finals: 6-7 April (home) and 13-14 April (away) Semifinals: 27-28 April (home) and 4-5 May (away) Final: Saturday 5 June

The final of the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 will be played on Saturday 5 June at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.