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

Chelsea make their return to the Champions League after a two-year absence and following a summer of success on the European and world stage.

The Blues pipped Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa to a place in the Premier League’s top-five last season to confirm their automatic qualification for Europe’s top club competition.

But it was followed by Enzo Maresca’s side winning the Conference League and then triumphing at the Club World Cup, where they defeated European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the final.

The 2021 Champions League winners return to the competition with a completely different team to the one that last reached the quarter-finals in 2023, with Cole Palmer set to star in the tournament for the first time.

Who could Chelsea face in the Champions League draw?

Chelsea 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.