The 2025/26 Champions League season is just around the corner. Germany sends FC Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund into the race. Here you can find out everything about the participating teams, the lot pots, the draw and their rules, as well as the game days.
The Ligapse of the Champions League 2025/26 will be drawn on Thursday, August 28, 2025 in the Monaco Grimaldi Forum. The draw at 6:00 p.m. sport.de accompanies the draw in the detailed live blog.
+++ The rules of the draw of the CL league phase using a super computer +++
Since the 2024/25 season, no classic balls have been used to draw. The “draw” takes over a super computer, an artificial intelligence (AI) from “Ae Live”. Only the club, the opponent of which is to be determined, is “drawn” by a star player at the beginning.
Because: A draw in the new format according to old draw rules would otherwise take three to four hours. Each team receives eight different opponents, two from each pot – you get four home games and four away games.
You are not allowed to play in the group phase against teams from your own country – and each team can compete against a maximum of two opponents from another, the same country (FC Bayern e.g. against a maximum of two English teams).
In 2024 the Schedule published two days after the draw. At the latest on August 30, the schedule or scheduling and setting for 2025/26 should also be published.
+++ pots: The participating teams of the Champions League 2025/26 +++
What do the CL lot pots look like? In Pot 1 we find FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
| Pot 1 |
|---|
| Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) |
| Real Madrid CF (ESP) |
| Manchester City (narrow) |
| FC Bayern Munich (GER) |
| Liverpool FC (Eng) |
| Inter Milan (ITA) |
| FC Chelsea (Eng) |
| Borussia Dortmund (GER) |
| FC Barcelona (ESP) |
In addition to some other large teams, Leverkusen and Frankfurt made it into the 2nd pot.
| Pot 2 |
|---|
| FC Arsenal (narrow) |
| Bayer Leverkusen (GER) |
| Atlético Madrid (ESP) |
| Atalanta Bergamo (ITA) |
| Villarreal CF (ESP) |
| Juventus Turin (ITA) |
| Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) |
| Benfica Lisbon (POR) |
| Club Bruges (BEL) |
Numerous top teams are also represented in pot 3, including Ajax, Tottenham, Naples, Sporting and Marseille.
| Pot 3 |
|---|
| Ajax Amsterdam (ned) |
| SSC Naples (ITA) |
| Sporting Lisbon (POR) |
| Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) |
| Slavia Praha (CZE) |
| Olympique de Marseille (FRA) |
| Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) |
| PSV Eindhoven (ned) |
| Bodö glimt (bor) |
In addition to Monaco and Galatasaray, Bilbao and Newcastle have only landed in the fourth pot.
| Pot 4 |
|---|
| Athletic Club de Bilbao (ESP) |
| Newcastle United (Eng) |
| As Monaco (FRA) |
| Galatasaray Istanbul (Tur) |
| Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) |
| FC Copenhagen (den) |
| Qarabag (AZE) |
| Pafos FC (CYP) |
| Cairate Almaty (KAZ) |
+++ The playoffs for the Champions League 2025/26 +++
The last seven participants were determined in the playoffs. The fetted team prevailed.
Ferencvaros Budapest (Hun) – Qarabag Agdam (AZE)
Red star Belgrade (SRB) – Pafos FC (Cyp)
Bodö/Glimt (Nor) – Sturm Graz (AUT)
Celtic Glasgow (SCO) – Qairat Almaty (Kas)
FC Basel (SUI) – FC Copenhagen (THE)
Fenerbahce Istanbul (DOOR) – Benfica Lisbon (POR)
Glasgow Rangers (Sco) – FC Bruges (Bel)
+++ The league game days and the knockout round of the Champions League 2025/26 +++
After the first eight match days, the knockout phase will be drawn on January 30, 2026.
On February 27th, another draw will decide what the tournament tree looks like from the round of 16. This will be the last draw of the CL season.
1st matchday: 16th, 17th and 18th September 2025
2nd game day: September 30th and October 1, 2025
3rd matchday: 21./22. October 2025
4th matchday: 4./5. November 2025
5th matchday: 25./26. November 2025
6th matchday: 9./10. December 2025
7th matchday: 20./21. January 2026
8th matchday: January 28, 2026
Playoffs for the K.-O. round: 17./18. and 24./25. February 2026
Right -wing finals: 10./11. and 17./18. March 2026
Quarter -finals: 07./08. and 14./15. April 2026
Semi -finals: 28./29. April and 5th/6th May 2026
Final: May 30th in Budapest