2025/26 UEFA Champions League Draw: Key Details and Dates
by Bradley Gibbs | by Bradley Gibbs
When will the games be played?
Before we go any further, let’s first make a note of when the league phase matches of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League will take place.
- Matchday 1: September 16–18 2025
- Matchday 2: September 30/October 1 2025
- Matchday 3: October 21/22 2025
- Matchday 4: November 4/5 2025
- Matchday 5: November 25/26 2025
- Matchday 6: December 9/10 2025
- Matchday 7: January 20/21 2026
- Matchday 8: January 28 2026
Full Pot 1 League Phase Draw Details
Right, it’s time to dive into the juicy stuff, the key details of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League draw.
Below you will find a full breakdown league phase of the pot 1 teams:
What are the big games to watch out for?
The updated format of the UEFA Champions League now means that there are lots of games between big teams even before the knockout phase begins, which for many, makes the competition a little less special, though for others, more games featuring the biggest and best that European soccer has to offer only adds to the appeal of this prestigious competition.
Last season's runners-up Inter have avoided a league phase date with their conquerors PSG, but the Italian giants do have some sizable tasks to complete if they're to make the knockouts for the second year on the spin. They'll take on the likes of Arsenal, Dortmund, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid. The champions won't have it easy either, with PSG facing Bayern, Barcelona, Tottenham, Leverkusen and Newcastle during the league phase.
Here are some of the most mouthwatering league phase fixtures to look out for over the next few months:
- Liverpool vs Real Madrid
- Inter vs Arsenal
- PSG vs Bayern
- Real Madrid vs Man City
- Barcelona vs PSG
- Arsenal vs Bayern
- Atletico Madrid vs Inter
- Real Madrid vs Juventus
- Bayern vs Chelsea
- Inter vs Liverpool
- Chelsea vs Barcelona
Minnows to take on the mighty
While the competition, thanks largely to the reformatting that took place just over a year ago, is now filled with high-profile games right from the very start, there's still the potential for a few giant killings, make no mistake about that. This season, there are some real minnows in the league phase, with the likes of Pafos of Cyprus and Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan making it through the qualifiers, earning themselves eight games agaisnt some of Europe's best.
Playing in the UEFA Champions League for the first time, Pafos have an estimated market value of just over 20 million euros. To put this in perspective, the market value of Real Madrid is 1.4 billion euros. Arsenal, Man City, PSG, Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool all have market values of over a billion euros too. The Cypriot club will face one of those from the billion club during the league phase when they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea. Interestingly, the Pafos' squad has an average player transfer value of just under €900,000. Chelsea's average player transfer value stands at just over €33,000,000.
In terms of market value, Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty is the smallest in the competition. The average player transfer value at Kairat is €470,000. Kairat's league phase opponents feature Real Madrid, Arsenal and Inter, where the respective average player transfer values stand at €55,000,000, €47,000,000 and £27,000,000.
How is the next stage of the competition determined?
As of last season, the UEFA Champions League now works on a league system. The 36 teams involved will each play eight matches, four at home and four on the road.
After the league phase finishes, the top eight teams will automatically advance to the round of 16. Teams finishing between 24th and 9th will go into a two-legged play-off round to play for the right to feature in the round of 16.
Once the round of 16 is determined, it’s a knockout competition all the way to the final, with the round of 16, the quarter finals and semi finals all being played over two legs, before a one-off final will take place. In 2026, the UEFA Champions Final will be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
