Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City learn 2026/27 Champions League group-stage opponents

The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league-stage draw is set for Thursday evening, with all five Premier League representatives — Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa — finding out their eight opponents for the competition’s opening phase.

Arsenal return to the competition as beaten finalists after Paris Saint-Germain claimed the 2025/26 title, while Liverpool and Manchester City continue their status as European regulars. Manchester United secured their place through an impressive run under manager Michael Carrick, and Aston Villa earned their spot by winning last season’s UEFA Europa League.

The draw is scheduled to get underway at around 5pm UK time. Each of the 36 participating clubs will face two opponents drawn from each of the four seeding pots, with the competition’s format continuing the 36-team league-stage structure introduced in recent seasons. Final standings in that league table will determine qualification for the knockout rounds.

UEFA has introduced one notable new restriction ahead of this season’s draw: the same fixture cannot be repeated in three consecutive seasons. As a result, Arsenal cannot be drawn to face Inter Milan away, and Liverpool cannot be paired at home against Real Madrid.

The Premier League clubs are distributed across the top two pots. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are all in Pot 1 alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. Manchester United and Aston Villa are placed in Pot 2, which also includes Borussia Dortmund, Sporting CP, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.

Pots 3 and 4 feature clubs including Feyenoord, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Stuttgart, Slavia Praha and Como, among others, giving the Premier League quintet a wide range of potential opponents across European football.