UEFA Champions League 2025-26 draw set for August 28 in Monaco
Defending champions PSG lead Pot 1 with elite teams
Top eight teams advance directly to the Round of 16
The UEFA Champions League 2025-26 group stage draw, now officially called the “league phase draw”, is scheduled for Thursday, August 28, 2025, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Watch the Champions League draw live.
UEFA first announced the new league phase format in April 2021 and implemented it for the 2024-25 season. The 2025-26 draw in Monaco marks only the second use of this expanded 36-team system, replacing the group stage, in place since 1992.
Champions League Pots: Teams And Seeding For 2025-26
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain headline Pot 1, joined by European heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona. These teams have secured top rankings through domestic dominance or consistent continental performances in recent UEFA competitions.
Pot 2 features strong contenders, including Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Club Brugge.
Pot 3 contains Tottenham Hotspur, Napoli, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, and Marseille.
Pot 4 brings in tricky challengers like Newcastle United, Galatasaray, Monaco, Athletic Bilbao, Union Saint-Gilloise, Copenhagen, Qarabag, Pafos, and Kairat Almaty.
The seeding ensures a balanced competition, with each team facing two opponents from each pot and no more than two clubs from the same country.
How The League Phase And Knockout Playoffs Work?
Each club will play eight matches -- four at home and four away -- against opponents drawn from four seeding pots determined by UEFA club coefficients, reflecting recent European performance and domestic success.
After the league phase, the top eight teams in the UEFA Champions League standings advance directly to the Round of 16. Teams ranked ninth to twenty-fourth enter a knockout playoff to compete for the remaining spots, while the bottom twelve teams are eliminated.
This structure increases the number of high-stakes matches and keeps more clubs in contention for a longer period.
UEFA’s Swiss-system league phase has raised the total matches from 125 in the old group stage to 189, giving clubs from smaller leagues like Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and Qarabag greater exposure to top-seeded teams and more opportunities to earn UEFA coefficient points.
2025-26 UEFA Champions League League Stage Draw - Live Streaming Info
When is the UEFA Champions League draw (league stage)?
The UEFA Champions League draw (league stage) is on Thursday, August 28 in Monaco.
At what time will the UEFA Champions League draw begin?
The UEFA Champions League draw (league stage) will begin at 9:30 p.m. IST.
Where to catch the live telecast/stream of the league stage draw of UEFA Champions League 2025-26 in India?
One can catch the telecast as well as streaming of the draw of the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 on the Sony Sports Network while the live streaming will be available on the SonyLiv app/website.
