The draw for this season’s UEFA Champions League league phase will be held in Monaco this Thursday at 6:00 PM, following the same format as last year. Traditional groups and pots are gone—now specialized software determines each team’s opponents within seconds. Clubs will face two rivals from each level based on UEFA rankings, creating a virtual league of eight matches.

At the end of this stage, the top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16, while the bottom eight are eliminated. Those ranked between 9th and 24th will compete in a knockout playoff for a spot in the last 16. Every goal counts, as the overall standings will decide qualification.

The full match schedule will be confirmed on Saturday, but already on Thursday evening (around 7:00 PM), the weekly opponents and home/away allocations will be announced. Broadcasters will then step in to balance TV coverage, particularly challenging with six English teams and five Spanish sides in the mix.

Pots for the draw:

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Dortmund, Barcelona

Pot 2: Arsenal, Leverkusen, Atlético de Madrid, Benfica, Club Brugge, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht

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

Pot 4: Monaco, Qarabag, Galatasaray, Union SG, Pafos, Kairat Almaty, Athletic, Newcastle, Copenhagen

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