Champions League draw: Premier League boast record numbers as pots and fixture dates confirmed

The Premier League will have a record six teams in Thursday’s Champions League draw. Liverpool are second favourites behind holders Paris Saint Germain from the 36 teams going into the league phase on European football’s biggest stage.

UEFA are holding the star-studded draw in Monaco at 5pm UK time with the first round of games starting on September 16. Liverpool are joined by Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle, Chelsea and Europa League winners Tottenham who were promoted into the Champions League.

It is a record for the Premier League who gained an extra fifth place through coefficient rankings because English teams fared so well in European competition last season.

That was further boosted by a sixth place for Spurs after they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final in May which gets them a passport into the competition.

It means English teams have got a remarkable power base in the competition along with the likes of PSG, Harry Kane ’s Bayern Munich and Italian champions Napoli. Spain have also got five teams with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal.

READ MORE: Liverpool, Arsenal and Premier League rivals' dream and nightmare Champions League draws

READ MORE: Celtic crash out of Champions League in humiliating fashion as minnows win play-off

The first match round is spread across the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to make the Champions League front and centre of the European week. They are all chasing a place in the final which is being held at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30, 2026.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot will be determined to go further in this year’s competition after being knocked out in the last 16 by eventual winners PSG. That was undoubtedly bad luck to get such a tough draw but PSG nearly went out in the league phase because they started the season so slowly.

Yet while that was a flaw in the new-look competition, the new-look Champions League was generally well received as all teams played an extra two games - eight in total - in the league phase and produced some heavyweight showdowns.

Arsenal went all the way to the semi finals and were the English team to go furthest in the competition, having knocked out Real Madrid in the quarter finals before losing to PSG. But that has not earned them a place in pot one among the top seeds who earn their place based on UEFA club coefficients which is down to recent European success.

As a result, Chelsea - the Club World Cup holders - are in pot one after winning the Europa Conference League last season while Manchester City are also in the top seeds having won the Champions League in 2023.

The pots are not officially finalised by UEFA until the outcome of the remaining Champions League play-offs but there will be no place for Celtic after they lost to Kazakhstan club Kairat on penalties on Tuesday night.

Tottenham are waiting to discover their fate and which pot they will be in while Newcastle are set to be in pot four. The league phase will be as the same as last season with the top eight getting a passport into the last 16 of the knock-out phase and the next 16 go into a play-off phase.

The pots

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

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

Pot 3: Tottenham, PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille

Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Club, Newcastle, Pafos, Kairat.

Match dates

Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025

Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025

Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025

Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025

Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025

Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025

Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026

Matchday 8: 28 January 2026

Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026

Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026

Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026

Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026

Final: 30 May 2026

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