European football's showpiece club competition returns to the spotlight this week as the draw for the 2026/27 Champions League league phase takes place, with five Premier League sides among the 36 clubs learning their fate.
Arsenal, who finished as English champions, and runners-up Manchester City headline the Premier League's representation. They are joined by Manchester United, Liverpool, who secured a top-five finish, and Aston Villa, who return to the continent's elite competition having lifted the Europa League and finished fourth domestically last season.
The draw itself will be conducted at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, getting underway from 5pm BST on Thursday, August 27, 2026. UK viewers can follow proceedings live on TNT Sports 1, with the broadcaster also streaming the event via the HBO Max app and website for subscribers. Those looking for a free alternative can turn to UEFA's official website or the TNT Sports YouTube channel, both of which will carry the draw as it happens.
As for the sporting context, Paris Saint-Germain arrive as favourites to claim a third consecutive European crown after beating Arsenal on penalties in last season's final and further strengthening their squad over the summer. Arsenal are widely seen as PSG's closest challengers, with Spanish heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid - the latter now led once again by Jose Mourinho in his second spell at the helm - also expected to be in the mix for the trophy.
The format for this season's competition follows the structure introduced in recent years, doing away with the traditional group stage in favour of a single league phase. All 36 qualified clubs are split into four pots of six, with the seedings determined by each club's coefficient ranking heading into the campaign. Those pots were finalised on Wednesday evening once the play-off round ties had concluded.
Under this system, clubs no longer face the same three opponents home and away as in the old group format. Instead, every team will play eight different opponents across the league phase - two drawn from each of the four pots. Of those eight fixtures, four will be played at home and four away, with one home and one away match guaranteed against a side from each pot.
Once the league phase concludes, the results will determine which teams progress automatically to the knockout stages and which must navigate a play-off round before reaching the round of 16.
The fixture calendar for the newly drawn matches has already been mapped out. Matchday 1 will take place across September 8-10, 2026, followed by Matchday 2 on October 13 and 14. Matchday 3 follows on October 20 and 21, before Matchday 4 arrives on November 3 and 4. The season progresses through Matchday 5 on November 24 and 25 and Matchday 6 on December 8 and 9, before a winter break precedes the final two rounds - Matchday 7 on January 19 and 20, and Matchday 8 rounding off the league phase on January 27.
With Arsenal eager to go one step further than last season's agonising final defeat, and Manchester United back among Europe's elite after their absence, English interest in the draw will be significant. Attention now turns to how the pots shape up and which glamour ties emerge once the balls are drawn in Monaco.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport.