New season: Inside look at how Champions League draw works and qualified teams

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

- This season's Champions League draw is scheduled for 20:00 EAT on Thursday, August 27, in Monaco

- Paris Saint-Germain are chasing a third title while Barcelona and Manchester United hope to end their droughts

- We take a look at how the automated process works ahead of the league phase draw on Thursday

UEFA will conduct the Champions League league-phase draw at 20:00 East Africa Time on Thursday, August 27, in Monaco.

How the Champions League Draw Works

The 36 qualified clubs are divided into four pots, each ranked according to UEFA's club coefficient standings. The draw proceeds pot by pot, beginning with pot one, and UEFA's automated software assigns each team eight opponents once they are drawn; two from every pot, with one home match and one away match against each allocated side.

Pot one contains some of the continent's most recognisable clubs: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, record champions Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.

Each club will therefore compete in eight league-phase matches in total before the competition advances to the knockout rounds.

Rules Governing the Fixture Allocation

Several restrictions apply to how opponents are assigned. No club can be drawn against a side from the same country during the league phase, meaning, for example, that Arsenal and Manchester City cannot meet at this stage of the competition.

Additionally, teams are barred from facing more than two clubs from any single foreign nation across their eight fixtures.

The software will continue generating fixture combinations for each of the 36 sides until the full schedule for the league phase has been confirmed, balancing all restrictions simultaneously to produce a valid set of matches across the board.

New Champions League rule changes

We also highlighted facts about the upcoming 2026/27 Premier League season, featuring significant rule changes that could impact how the tournament unfolds.

As PSG readies to defend their title again, the tension heightens over how these new regulations will alter the course of the season and the battle for supremacy among elite clubs.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.