Cinderellas, giants and the new format: ahead of the Champions League draw
The Champions League is approaching the first big moment of the 2026/27 season: the league phase draw, which will be held on Thursday, August 27, in Monaco. According to UEFA, the upcoming season will be the 72nd in the history of the competition and the third in the new format, in which there is no classic group stage but a single table of 36 teams.
The Champions League is approaching the first big moment of the 2026/27 season: the league phase draw, which will be held on Thursday, August 27, in Monaco. According to UEFA, the upcoming season will be the 72nd in the history of the competition and the third in the new format, in which there is no classic group stage but a single table of 36 teams.
29 teams that secured their place directly will arrive at the draw, along with the seven winners from the qualifying playoffs. Paris Saint-Germain will arrive as the European champion, after winning the title for the second consecutive time, and alongside them will appear giants such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Alongside the top clubs, this season also brings with it some surprising stories. Sabah from Azerbaijan qualified for the league phase for the first time in its history, after a big comeback against Hapoel Be'er Sheva and a 5:2 victory after extra time, on the way to a 6:4 aggregate score. The Austrian LASK also recorded an unforgettable evening, when it erased a 3:0 deficit against Celtic, won 5:1 in extra time and secured a first appearance in the league phase.
Even before the draw, the last tickets will be distributed. Four meetings will be decided tonight, when Lyon and Fenerbahçe arrive for the second leg in France after a 1:1 draw in the first game. Also AEK Athens and Levski Sofia, Viking and Dinamo Zagreb, and Celje and Slovan Bratislava will fight for a place in the league phase.
In the new format, each team will meet eight different opponents, four matches at home and four away. The top eight in the table will qualify directly for the round of 16, the teams that finish in places 9 to 24 will continue to the knockout playoffs, and place 25 and below will end their journey in Europe already after the league phase.
After a summer of qualifiers, dramas and comebacks, European football is about to get its opening picture. On Thursday in Monaco it will become clear who will meet whom, and who will start the long road to the big final that will be held on June 5, 2027, at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.
