Champions League draw: Where to watch, live stream, time as Real Madrid, Barca, Liverpool await schedules
The 36-team field is set for this season's edition of the UEFA Champions League, with a batch of newcomers set to join regional heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid after a dramatic qualification journey.
Three teams booked their berths in the league phase on Tuesday as the second leg of the play-off round began, each of them reaching the competition proper for the first time in their history. Some matches were more dramatic than others – Norway's Bodo/Glimt beat Austria's Sturm Graz 6-2 on aggregate after a 5-0 first leg at home, while Cyprus' Pafos and Kazakhstan's Kairat clinched their Champions League spots with heroics in the second leg. Pafos took a 3-2 aggregate lead over Crvena Zvezda thanks to an 89th-minute goal from Jaja, while Kairat ousted Celtic on penalties after a 0-0 aggregate score, goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov making three saves during the shootout.
On Wednesday, last season's round of 16 participants Benfica and Club Brugge secured their spots in the league phase, as did Qarabag and Copenhagen. Brugge collected a remarkable 9-1 aggregate win over Rangers while Copenhagen created a sizable distance between them and Basel with a 3-1 aggregate win. The margin of victory was slimmer for Benfica, who scored the lone goal of a tie against Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the first half on Wednesday, while Qarabag beat Ferencvaros 5-4 on aggregate.
The 36 teams that will make up the league phase participants will then find out their path to the Budapest's Puskas Arena during Thursday's draw.
How to watch the Champions League drawChampions League qualified teams- Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Benfica, Club Brugge
- Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos, Slavia Praha, Tottenham Hotspur, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille
- Pot 4: Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle United, Pafos, Kairat, Qarabag, Copenhagen
- Kairat 0, Celtic 0 (teams tied 0-0 on aggregate; Kairat win 3-2 on penalties)
- Pafos 1, Crvena Zvezda 1 (Pafos win 3-2 on aggregate)
- Sturm Graz 2, Bodo/Glimt 1 (Bodo/Glimt win 6-2 on aggregate)
- Qarabag 2, Ferencvaros 3 (Qarabag win 5-4 on aggregate)
- Club Brugge 6, Rangers 0 (Club Brugge win 9-1 on aggregate)
- Benfica 1, Fenerbahce 0 (Benfica win 1-0 on aggregate)
- Copenhagen 2, Basel 0 (Copenhagen win 3-1 on aggregate)
This will be the second season after UEFA changed the Champions League format, with a league phase replacing the group stage. During Thursday's draw, 36 teams will be assigned eight different opponents during the league phase, two from each pot. The teams will also be assigned four home matches and four away matches during the draw. The competition no longer follows a round-robin format so each team will have their own unique schedules during the league phase.
Once play begins, teams will be ranked in a single table. The top eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16, while those ranked ninth through 24th will face off in the knockout phase playoffs before reaching the last 16. You can freshen up on the new Champions League format here.
League phase schedule- Matchday 1: Sept. 16-18
- Matchday 2: Sept. 30-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, 2026
- Matchday 8: Jan. 28, 2026
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