Who could Man City face in the Champions League? Possible opponents ahead of league phase draw | OneFootball

Manchester City will be hoping for improved results in this season’s Champions League as a new-look squad returns to the competition.

City finished 22nd in the inaugural Champions League league phase last season, scraping through to a knockout play-off only on the final match-day.

Amid a difficult winter for Pep Guardiola’s side, City were then knocked out by old rivals Real Madrid in their earliest Champions League exit since 2013.

With Kevin De Bruyne departing over the summer and the likes of Tijjani Reijnders and Ryan Cherki arriving, Guardiola will expect his team to go much further this season.

Who could Man City face in the Champions League draw?

Manchester City are in Pot 1 of the Champions League draw. They will be drawn against two teams from each pot but can’t play another English team in the league phase, and are not permitted to face more than two teams from one country. So, their possible opponents are as follows:

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona

Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge.

Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille.

Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Club, Pafos, Kairat.

Champions League 2025/26 league phase pots

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona

Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge

Pot 3: Tottenham, PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille

Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Club, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat.

When is the Champions League draw?

The draw will be held in Monaco on Thursday, 28 August and begins at 6pm BST.

How to watch the Champions League draw

Uefa and TNT Sports will both offer a free live stream on their websites and YouTube channels.

How does the league phase draw work?

The league phase has 36 teams with every team handed eight games. The 36 teams are split into four pots of eight teams based on their Uefa coefficient, with the opponents generated by automated software.

The opponents then come from each pot, with two teams selected from each, one home and one away.

Teams cannot play another team from the same country and are not permitted to face more than two teams from one country.

Those finishing inside the top eight go straight into the last 16, then the next 16 teams advance to the play-off stage, with eight of those 16 teams progressing to the last 16.