Barcelona will discover their next Champions League opponents this week when the draw for the 2026-27 league phase is made in Monaco. Paris Saint-Germain head into the new tournament as the defending champions after beating Arsenal in the final in May to make it back-to-back titles under Luis Enrique.
As for Barcelona, Hansi Flick has guided his team to the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the competition during his time in charge but has made no secret of the fact that it’s his dream to lift the European
Cup with the Catalan giants.
A summer of investment has brought in Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Jesse Bisiwu, Joao Cancelo and Rodri, while there may even be more arrivals and departures before the transfer window closes next week.
The arrival of Rodri in particular has been seen by many as a game-changer. The Spain star has already won the Champions League with Manchester City, the World Cup with Spain and claimed the Ballon d’Or during his incredible career. He’s also made it clear after arriving in Barcelona that he wants to add more titles to his collection and has the Champions League very much on his mind.
Champions League draw start time
The draw for the 2026-27 league phase takes place on Thursday, August 27th from 6pm CET (12pm ET). The draw will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, France.
How to watch the Champions League draw
The draw for the 2026-27 Champions League is free to watch live on UEFA.com and UEFA.tv. Viewers in the United States can also watch the draw on HBO Max. In the United Kingdom, the draw will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1.
Champions League draw format
There are 36 teams in the Champions League draw, 29 automatic qualifiers and seven winners from the play-off round. Each team will be drawn to face eight opponents in the league phase. The clubs will play half of their games at home and the other half away.
The top eight teams in the league phase will progress straight to the Round of 16. The teams finishing from ninth to 24th will go into a knockout play-off round, with the winners also progressing to the last 16. Those teams finishing 25th or lower are eliminated from the competition and do not drop into the Europa League.
The Champions League draw is determined by a supercomputer which automatically selects the eight opponents and guarantees that teams can not face clubs from the same league. The four different pots are allocated based on UEFA’s club coefficient rankings.
Which Pot are Barcelona in?
Barcelona will be in Pot 1 along with a host of other big European clubs, including defending champions PSG and La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Atletico.
The four pots have almost been completed but will be confirmed after the final round of play-off fixtures later today.
Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid.
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis, PSV.
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray.
Pot 3 or 4 (to be confirmed): Bodo/Glimt, LASK, Sabah, Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Como, Lens, Fenerbahce or Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb vs Viking, Slovan Brastislava or Celje, Levski Sofa or AEK Athens.
Who do you want Barcelona to play/avoid in the Champions League draw and how do you rate their chances of success this season?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
