Champions League Draw: Five English Clubs Eye PSG
The League Phase is back. Five English clubs, one dominant champion to chase, and a draw in Monaco that will shape the entire European season.
Paris Saint-Germain, kings of the continent for the last two years and conquerors of Arsenal on penalties in last season’s final, arrive as the team everyone wants to avoid – and the one everyone wants to beat. They have strengthened again over the summer, intent on turning a modern reign into a full-blown dynasty, with a third straight Champions League crown the clear target.
England, though, travels in numbers and with intent.
Five English clubs, one mission
Arsenal return as Premier League champions and as the side many expect to push PSG hardest. Mikel Arteta’s team were a kick away from glory last season; the scars of that shootout defeat still sit close to the surface. This campaign is about going one step further.
Manchester City, runners-up in the league, are back in familiar territory. Their relationship with this competition is complicated, but their presence at the sharp end is not. Liverpool, resurgent and dangerous, join them after finishing fifth, while Manchester United return to the top table as a Pot 2 side, desperate to prove they belong among Europe’s elite again.
Aston Villa complete the English contingent. Unai Emery’s side arrive not as plucky outsiders but as Europa League holders and Premier League top-four finishers. Villa are back in the Champions League on merit, and under this new format, no one will relish a night against them.
The draw in Monaco
All eyes turn to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco this afternoon. The draw for the league phase of the 2026/27 Champions League begins today, Thursday, August 27, 2026, from 5pm BST, where 36 clubs will discover the path that lies ahead.
Arsenal, City, Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League pack will sit in front of screens in training grounds and hotels as their names are pulled from bowls and placed into a format that has transformed the competition.
For English fans, it’s appointment viewing. TNT Sports 1 carries the draw live in the UK from 5pm BST, with the ceremony starting shortly after. Subscribers can stream it via the HBO Max app and website, while UEFA.com and the TNT Sports YouTube channel will show the draw free of charge.
The power structure: pots and peril
This isn’t the old group-stage dance. The 36 qualified clubs are split into four seeding pots of nine, based on UEFA club coefficients at the start of the season. Those pots were finalised on Wednesday night after the play-off ties wrapped up.
Pot 1 is a who’s who of European heavyweights: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. That is where the trophy usually comes from – and where the pressure is relentless.
Pot 2 carries its own threats: Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven. On paper, it is the tier below. In reality, it’s full of sides capable of wrecking a season in 90 minutes.
Pot 3 and Pot 4 are no comfort either. Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Fenerbahce, Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray make up Pot 3. Slavia Prague, Slovan Bratislava, Stuttgart, AEK Athens, LASK, Como, Lens, Viking and Sabah complete Pot 4. There are no soft landings here, just different shades of danger.
Hovering over it all are Barcelona and Real Madrid, now back under the command of Jose Mourinho for a second spell. Along with Arsenal, they are seen as the most likely to disrupt PSG’s grip on the trophy.
How the new Champions League really works
The format has changed, and this is where the draw truly matters.
The traditional eight groups are gone. In their place stands a single league phase in which each team plays eight matches. No more home-and-away ties against the same three opponents. Instead, every club will face eight different sides – four at home, four away.
The seeding pots dictate the mix. Each team will be drawn to face two opponents from each pot: two from Pot 1, two from Pot 2, two from Pot 3 and two from Pot 4. One of those fixtures against each pot will be at home, the other away.
It means variety, but also volatility. A brutal run of fixtures can crush momentum. A favourable spread can open a route to the knockouts. For clubs like Aston Villa or Manchester United, the draw could define the tone of their entire campaign. For Arsenal and City, it could be the difference between a smooth march to the latter stages and a draining slog through Europe.
The calendar that will test everyone
Once the names are out, attention switches quickly to the schedule – and it’s relentless.
- Matchday 1: September 8-10, 2026
- Matchday 2: October 13/14, 2026
- Matchday 3: October 20/21, 2026
- Matchday 4: November 3/4, 2026
- Matchday 5: November 24/25, 2026
- Matchday 6: December 8/9, 2026
- Matchday 7: January 19/20, 2026
- Matchday 8: January 27, 2026
Eight games, spread from early September to late January, jammed into already punishing domestic calendars. Squad depth, rotation, and the ability to ride form and injury swings will decide who reaches the knockouts fresh and who staggers into them on fumes.
PSG begin as favourites. Arsenal are tipped as the main challengers. Barcelona and Mourinho’s Madrid lurk with familiar menace. Behind them, five English clubs look at the new landscape and see opportunity.
The draw in Monaco will not hand out any trophies. But it will quietly decide who has a clear road to Istanbul – and who will have to climb the hard way.
