We are all set for the UEFA Champions League 2025/26. On Thursday 28 August, the wheels will be set in motion for FC Barcelona at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, with the draw that begins at 6pm CEST. The blaugranes, along with the other 35 clubs involved, will find out their opponents for the initial league phase of the competition. The Club will be represented at the draw by the director responsible for the sporting area Rafa Yuste, director of football Anderson Luis de Souza 'Deco' and football coordinator Bojan Krkic.

Second season with new format 

The 2025/26 competition will see all of the teams involved compete in the same league, although they will only play eight teams (four at home and four away), and those opponents will be decided by the draw in Monaco. The Champions League will then revert to a knockout format after the league phase in what will be just the second year of the revamped competition following its debut in 2024/25. 

Four pots and eight opponents

The teams are divided into four pots based on their UEFA coefficient, and each will play two teams from each pot, one at home and one away. Barça are one of the teams in Pot 1, although that does not suppose any particular advantage over the others. They will play two other teams in Pot 1 like everyone else. The draw is too complex to be performed manually. Instead, a computer system will decide the eight games each team will play, consisting of four home fixtures and four away fixtures.

Teams cannot play any league phase games against teams from their own domestic league and cannot play more than two games against teams from the same country. This means that Barça will not face fellow La Liga clubs Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Club or Villarreal in the league fixtures. 

Potential opponents

The previous rounds are complete, so the 36 teams through to the league phase of the Champions League have been confirmed and put into different pots, and here are the potential opponents for Barça:

  • Pot 1: PSG, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. Real Madrid are in pot 1 too, but cannot face Barça as they are from the same league.
  • Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Juventus, Eintracht, Brugge and Benfica. Atlético Madrid and Villarreal are also in pot 2, but again cannot be opponents.
  • Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiakos, Slavia Praha, Bodø/Glimt, Olympique de Marseille and Tottenham.
  • Pot 4: Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Newcastle, Paphos, Kairat Almaty, Copenhagen and Qarabag. Athletic Club are in pot 4 too, but cannot face Barça.

Knockout stages

The top eight teams in the league phase will advance directly to the round of 16, and will be seeded. The teams ranked 9th to 24th then play two-legged playoffs to decide on the other eight sides that will make up the round of 16. The first legs are on February 11 and 12 and the return legs are on February 18 and 19, with the teams ranked 9th to 16th playing the second leg at home.

From there on, the knockout phase will continue, although one change from last season is that all rounds will be seeded based on where teams finished in the league phase, with the highest ranked side always playing the second leg at home. All ties will be over two legs, except of course the final in Budapest, Hungary on 30 May 2026. 

Champions League 2025/26 

  • League Phase: From 16 September to 28 January
  • Play-off: First legs: 17 and 18 February. Second legs: 24 and 25 February
  • Round of 16: First legs: 10 and 11 March. Second legs: 17 and 18 March
  • Quarter-finals: First legs: 7 and 8 April. Second legs: 14 and 15 April
  • Semi-finals: First legs: 28 and 29 April. Second legs: 5 and 6 May
  • Final: 30 May at Puskas Arena, Budapest, Hungary

Special program on Club YouTube channel

The Club's official YouTube channel is set to broadcast a special program for the Champions League draw from 6pm CEST. Robert Van Eeckhout and Llorenç Tarrés will be your hosts to guide you through the draw as it happens.

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