Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City will be in Pot One for the Champions League league stage draw, UEFA has confirmed. The draw for the 2026/27 edition is due to take place in Nyon on Thursday evening.
Five Premier League clubs are represented this year, sorted into pots by their five-year UEFA coefficients. Champions Arsenal, beaten in last season's final by PSG, have a place in Pot One.
Premier League representatives
Liverpool and Manchester City join Arsenal in the top pot. Liverpool finished fifth last year, with the Premier League granted an extra place due to the division's UEFA coefficient. City finished second behind Arsenal.
European champions PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid complete Pot One.
Pot Two and beyond
Manchester United are in Pot Two after sealing a return to the Champions League with a late-season run under Michael Carrick. Aston Villa also sit in Pot Two following their fourth-placed finish and Europa League success.
Pot Two includes Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Porto, Sporting CP, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV. Pot Three features Lille, Napoli, Galatasaray, Feyenoord, Bodø/Glimt, Leipzig, Villarreal, Fenerbahçe and Shakhtar. Pot Four includes Stuttgart, Como, Lens, Slavia Praha, S. Bratislava, AEK Athens, LASK, Viking and Sabah.
Draw rules
Each team will face two opponents from each pot, one at home and one away, making eight opponents overall. Arsenal cannot play Inter Milan away, and Liverpool cannot be drawn against Real Madrid at home due to a new UEFA rule banning the same fixture in three consecutive years.
After the league stage, teams are ranked in a 36-team table. The top eight qualify for the last 16, while those ranked ninth to 24th enter the playoffs. Teams ranked lower are eliminated.
