Champions League 2025/26: Monte Carlo draw today, four Italian teams | OneFootball

The Champions League officially kicks off today with the draw for the single group stage, scheduled at 6 PM at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo.

Champions League 2025/26: Today's draw in Monte Carlo, four Italian teams in the running

This will be the second year of the new 36-team format: a formula that transforms the tournament into a true European championship, with unified standings and increasingly spectacular matchups. The final will be played on May 30 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

The Italian teams at the starting line

Italy fields four teams:

Inter (first tier), finalist of the last edition

Juventus and Atalanta (second tier)

Napoli (third tier), returning to the Champions League after a year of absence

The draw mechanisms require each top seed to draw eight opponents (two per tier), facing them in alternating home and away matches. The top eight in the unified standings will advance directly to the round of 16, the last eight will be eliminated, while the other sixteen will compete in playoffs.

The clubs to beat

Paris Saint-Germain, reigning champion after their victory against Inter, starts again as the favorite. In the first tier, there are also Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and Inter itself. England is represented by six teams, with Arsenal as a wildcard in the second tier.

Among the surprises of the preliminaries are Bodø/Glimt, Pafos, and Kairat of Almaty, marking the first historic participation for a Kazakh club. Celtic Glasgow and Red Star have been relegated to the Europa League, where Roma (first tier) and Bologna will take the field. On Friday at 1 PM, in Monte Carlo, the draws for the Europa and Conference League will take place (with Fiorentina still in the running via playoffs).

The news: final moved to 6 PM

UEFA has announced a historic change: starting in 2026, the Champions League final will begin at 6:00 PM instead of 9:00 PM. The goal is to improve the overall experience for fans, teams, and host cities, making the event more accessible globally.

The 36 teams divided by tiers

Tier 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona Tier 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bruges Tier 3: Tottenham, PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodø/Glimt, Marseille Tier 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union SG, Qarabağ, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat

The first matches will be played on September 16. For the complete schedule, we will have to wait until Saturday.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.