Who Manchester United can face in Champions League as major threats loom

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·25 August 2026

Who Manchester United can face in Champions League as major threats loom

Man United are back in the Champions League after a remarkable turnaround under Michael Carrick

Manchester United will soon discover their opponents in the league phase on this season’s Champions League.

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As this is Man United’s return to Europe’s top table after a two-year absence, it will their first experience of the brand new format following UEFA’s radical shake-up.

The previous group stage of eight groups consisting of four teams each has been ditched in favour of a new league format, though Man Utd will be familiar with how it works after navigating their way to the 2024/25 Europa League final.

Once again, all 36 teams will be separated into four pots and two will be drawn from each. They will face eight different opponents, playing four matches at home and four away.

The draw takes place on Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 5pm BST and much of it will be automated due to the sheer number of fixtures to be organised.

Play-off ties on Tuesday and Wednesday will decide the remaining qualifiers and complete the subsequent pots as Michael Carrick waits to discover who will be heading to Old Trafford and what European trips await his side.

Which pot are Manchester United in for the Champions League draw?

Manchester United have been placed in Pot 2, as their current coefficient has them sat 25th in UEFA’s rankings for European teams.

Who Manchester United can face in Champions League

The ceremony will produce eight opponents for every team, two from each pot. That means Manchester United will play two of the top-ranked clubs.

They cannot play a team from their own country (Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa or Manchester City) at this stage and can only play a maximum of two teams from a different association.

As such, United’s potential opponents from pot 1 are Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and holders Paris Saint-Germain.

Man United could face a reunion with Jose Mourinho in the Champions League

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From pot 2, it will be one from Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.

Pots 3 and 4 are still to be finalised, though Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk - playing their home games at Stamford Bridge - Galatasaray, Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Como and Lens are possible opponents.