The qualifying rounds for the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League are complete and now it’s time to look forward to the league phase of Europe’s annual premier club tournament.
Paris Saint-Germain enters this year’s competition as two-time reigning champions, and looking to become the first three-peat Champions League winner since Real Madrid from 2016-18.
Count 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid among the biggest threats to PSG’s throne, a list of contenders that also includes (but is not exclusive to) defending Premier League winners Arsenal, Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich and La Liga title-holders FC Barcelona.
The UEFA Champions League enters the third season under its relatively new format, with 36 teams in one “league” and each club playing eight matches. The top eight teams advance to the round of 16, while the 9th-24th-placed finishers play a two-legged tie to get into the knockout round proper.
Thirty-six European clubs will participate in the league phase, with each being assigned eight opponents – four home matches and four on the road – in Thursday’s draw.
The clubs enter the draw in four pots based on UEFA rankings and cannot be matched up against another team from their own country (ex: Arsenal can’t draw Manchester City), and no team can face more than two opponents from any other country.
