Champions League Draw 2025-26, Schedule of Dates for Group Stage Fixtures

The time is upon us—the Champions League draw.

On Thursday, all 36 clubs in this year's UCL learned the opponents they'll face during the League Phase. We'll go over the draw, the key dates and the pots that were used to create the draw down below.

Pots and Matchups

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona

Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Frankfurt, Club Brugge

Pot 3: Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Praha, Bodø/Glimt, Marseille

Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union SG, Qarabağ, Athletic Club, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat Almaty

Key Dates

League Phase

Matchday 1: Sept. 16–18

Matchday 2: Sept. 30 to Oct. 1

Matchday 3: Oct. 21-22

Matchday 4: Nov. 4-5

Matchday 5: Nov. 25-26

Matchday 6: Dec. 9-10

Matchday 7: Jan. 20-21

Matchday 8: Jan. 28

Knockout Phase

Knockout Phase Playoffs: Feb. 17-18 and 24-25

Round of 16: March 10-11 and 17-18

Quarterfinals: April 7-8 and 14-15

Semifinals: April 28-29 and May 5-6

Final: May 30

How the Pots and Draw Work

Every team was drawn eight opponents, with two coming from each pot (a home matchup and an away matchup). Clubs from the same league cannot be drawn against each other in the League Phase and cannot face more than two opponents from the same league.

The top eight finishers in the League Phase will automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while the teams that finish between ninth and 24th will enter the Knockout Phase Playoffs, with home and away matchups. Between the Knockout Phase Playoffs and the semifinals, all matchups will be two-legged.

The final is a single match in Budapest on May 30.