On Thursday afternoon (28 August), we'll learn our opponents for the League Phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.
Back in European football's elite club competition after three years away, we earned our return thanks to that unforgettable night in Bilbao back in May - a now a new Champions League format awaits us.
When we were last in the competition - in 2022/23 - we faced three teams in the group stage, however that has now changed as, like the Europa League last season, the Champions League also has a 36-team mini league in which we will face eight different opponents!
And tomorrow (Thursday) we'll learn who those opponents will be in the League Phase draw in Monaco - here is how the draw will work...
The 2025/26 League Phase draw explained
Taking place on the Mediterranean coast in Monaco, the draw will begin at 5pm (UK).
The 36 teams in the League Phase will be be represented by balls and will be split across four pots with placing determined by the individual club's UEFA coefficient ranking - the eight highest coefficients being placed in Pot One alongside the Champions League title holder - Paris Saint-Germain. The next nine highest coefficients will be assigned to Pot Two and so on.
With four places in the League phase still to be determined - there remains four play-off games tonight - we are yet to be assigned a pot, but we know it will be either Pot Two or Pot Three.
The draw will begin with Pot One. A physical ball containing the name of a team in Pot One will be drawn before the team is revealed. Computer software will then determine which eight opponents that side will face.
That procedure will be completed for each ball in the pot until all Pot One teams have their eight opponents. The draw will then move onto Pot Two where the same procedure will be performed.
Rules
The computer software follows a list of rules when determining the eight opponents for each side.
It shall assign each side two opponents from each pot (two from Pot One, two from Pot Two, two from Pot Three and two from Pot Four). From each pot, one team will be assigned as the away match with the other assigned as the home match.
No team from the same association will be drawn against each other (ie. we will not face another English club at this stage).
We will face a maximum of two clubs from the same association (ie. two Italian sides, two Spanish sides etc)
Fixture dates and kick-off times
UEFA will release match details for each League Phase game no later than Saturday 30 August.