Can Manchester City improve on their recent Champions League record? Pep Guardiola's team landed the holy grail by beating Inter Milan at the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı in İstanbul to hoist the trophy aloft back in 2023.
However, since then, their only knockout phase victory came against København, dumped out by Real Madrid in each of the last three seasons. Now led by Enzo Maresca, the Sky Blues are targeting a deep run in Europe, and the identity of their first eight opponents is about to be revealed.
When is the Champions League league phase draw?
The Champions League league phase draw takes place on Thursday 27 August. It will be staged at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, starting at 6pm Central European Summer Time. This is 5pm in the UK and noon on the east coast of the U.S. It took over half an hour for the first team to be drawn last year, so expect something similar in the Principality.
How can I watch the Champions League draw?
The Champions League draw is live on BBC iPlayer, TNT Sports 1 and HBO Max in the UK as well as on CBS Sports in the United States.
What pot are Manchester City in for the Champions League draw?
By virtue of being ranked sixth in the five-year UEFA Coefficient Ranking, Manchester City are in pot 1. This though is not as advantageous as it once was.
Who has qualified for the Champions League league phase?
36 clubs feature in the Champions League league phase. 29 are direct entrants, joined by the seven clubs who came through play-off ties on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The clubs are divided into four pots, based on their position in the UEFA Club Coefficient ranking, as can be seen here:
Pot 1
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
- Liverpool
- Internazionale Milano
- Manchester City
- Arsenal
- Barcelona
- Atlético Madrid
Pot 2
- Borussia Dortmund
- AS Roma
- Sporting Clube de Portugal
- Aston Villa
- FC Porto
- Manchester United
- Club Brugge
- Real Betis
- PSV Eindhoven
Pot 3
- Feyenoord
- LOSC Lille
- Bodø/Glimt
- Napoli
- RB Leipzig
- Villarreal
- Fenerbahçe
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Galatasaray
Pot 4
- Slavia Prague
- ŠK Slovan Bratislava
- VfB Stuttgart
- AEK Athens
- LASK
- Como
- Lens
- Viking
- Sabah
Who can Manchester City not face in the Champions League?
Manchester City cannot face fellow Premier League clubs, namely Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool. All 31 other clubs are potential opponents. This guarantees they will face two of PSG, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and Real Madrid..... again from pot 1.
The only other condition is that the Citizens can only face a maximum of two clubs from one country. So, as an example, if they draw Inter and Roma from pot 1 and 2, this would eliminate Napoli and Como as possible opponents from pots 3 and 4.
How does the Champions League league phase draw work?
Manchester City will play eight fixtures in total, against eight different opponents, four at the Etihad and four on the road. They will play two opponents from each pot, one at home and one away. The draw will start with pot 1 before working its way down, meaning Sky Blues will know their eight opponents pretty early on.
The dates and kick off times of all fixtures will be released on Saturday morning.
Champions League 2026/27 league phase dates
- League phase draw: Thursday 27 August - 5pm (BST) start.
- Matchday 1: 8-10 September.
- Matchday 2: 13 & 14 October.
- Matchday 3: 20 & 21 October.
- Matchday 4: 3 & 4 November.
- Matchday 5: 24 & 25 November.
- Matchday 6: 8 & 9 December.
- Matchday 7: 19 & 20 January.
- Matchday 8: Wednesday 27 January.
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