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Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Galatasaray will enter the UEFA Champions League 2026-27 league-phase draw from the third pot, with the ceremony taking place in Monaco at 7 p.m. Turkish time (GMT+3) on Thursday.
Fenerbahce secured its place by beating French side Lyon 2-1 in the second leg of their playoff on Wednesday, advancing 3-2 on aggregate. Galatasaray qualified directly after winning the Turkish league in the 2025-26 season.
They are joined in the third pot by Dutch club Feyenoord, French side Lille, Norway’s Bodo/Glimt, Italian club Napoli, German side Leipzig, Spanish team Villarreal and Ukrainian club Shakhtar.
The 36 teams reaching the league phase are divided into four pots of nine based on their UEFA coefficient rankings. The draw will give each club eight different opponents, with two selected from every pot. Each side will play four matches at home and four away.
The draw rules also prevent clubs from facing another team from the same national association. A club can draw no more than two opponents from any other single association.
Pot 1 contains French club Paris Saint-Germain, German side Bayern Munich, Spanish clubs Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid, English teams Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, and Italian club Inter.
Pot 2 features German club Borussia Dortmund, Italian side Roma, Portuguese club Sporting CP, English clubs Aston Villa and Manchester United, Portuguese side Porto, Belgian club Club Brugge, Spanish side Real Betis, and Dutch club PSV.
Pot 4 consists of Czech club Slavia Prague, Slovak side Slovan Bratislava, German club Stuttgart, Greek side AEK Athens, Austrian club LASK, Italian side Como, French club Lens, Norwegian side Viking, and Azerbaijani club Sabah.
The league phase begins Sept. 8 and runs through Jan. 27, 2027, with eight matchdays spread across the period. UEFA is due to publish the complete fixture list, including dates and kickoff times, no later than Aug. 29.
Once all eight rounds are completed, the standings determine who advances. The top eight teams move straight into the round of 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th go into the knockout phase playoffs. Teams ranked 25th to 36th are eliminated from the Champions League.
The knockout phase playoffs are scheduled for Feb. 16/17 and 23/24, followed by the round of 16 on March 9/10 and 16/17. The quarterfinals are set for April 6/7 and 13/14, while the semifinals will be played April 27/28 and May 4/5.
The campaign will end with the final at Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano on June 5, 2027. The venue, home of Atletico Madrid, is hosting the Champions League final for the second time after staging the 2019 showpiece.
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