Premier League Teams Prepare for Upcoming UEFA Draws
Premier League clubs are just days away from discovering their upcoming matchups in the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League. A total of nine English teams will compete across UEFA’s three tournaments, including Crystal Palace, who qualified for the Europa League by clinching the Conference League title.
As anticipation builds, we take a closer look at the draws for each tournament and the timeline for when Premier League clubs will find out their potential adversaries.
Champions League 2026/27 Draw Planned for Monaco
The draw for the group stage of the 2026/27 Champions League is scheduled for Thursday in Monaco. Out of the 36 teams expected to participate in Europe’s premier club competition, 32 have already secured their spots, while the remaining four will emerge from the qualifying rounds.
The final list of teams will only be confirmed after the second leg of the final qualifying fixtures concludes on Wednesday evening. In the group stage, each team will compete against two clubs from each of the four pots, with four matches played at home and away, determined by a computerized draw.
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The draw’s pots are organized based on UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, which assess results in European tournaments over a five-year cycle. Premier League champions Arsenal will join Liverpool and Manchester City in Pot 1, while Manchester United and Aston Villa will appear in Pot 2 as they return to top-tier European football.
The Champions League will maintain its standard league phase format for a third consecutive season. The top eight teams will directly advance to the last 16, while clubs finishing from ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged knockout round. Teams ranked 25th or lower will exit the competition.
Winners of the knockout play-offs will go on to face one of the top-eight teams in the round of 16, paving the way toward the quarter-finals.
Europa League and Conference League Draws on the Horizon
The remaining four Premier League clubs are set to compete in Europe’s lower-tier competitions. Brighton & Hove Albion’s participation in the Conference League remains unconfirmed. Meanwhile, Bournemouth, Sunderland, and Palace will make their marks in the Europa League, with their opponents to be determined following the qualifying phase’s conclusion on Thursday.
The draw for the 2026/27 Europa League has been slated for Friday, August 28, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, beginning at 12pm UK time. The English clubs will get their first glimpse at the teams they will encounter as they debut in the revamped Europa League format.
These three clubs will be allocated to Pot 3, although the final composition of the pots hinges on the outcomes of the qualifying matches. Therefore, Premier League fans will need to wait until those fixtures are finalized to see the complete list of participating clubs and the final pot allocations.
The Europa League draw will mirror the Champions League format, with each club facing two opponents from each pot across eight league-phase matches. As clubs from the same country cannot compete against each other during the league phase, Bournemouth, Palace, and Sunderland will not meet until the knockout rounds.
Following the Europa League draw, the Conference League draw will take place, with hopes high for Brighton to have secured their spot in the competition by then. The Seagulls played to a goalless draw in the first leg of their qualifying match against Tromso but will seek to build momentum from their 4-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa as they prepare for the second leg at the Amex Stadium.
Premier League clubs are days away from learning who they will face across the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League.
England will be represented by nine teams across each of UEFA’s three competitions, including Crystal Palace, who secured their place in the Europa League by winning the Conference League.
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Read on as we take a look at the draws for each competition and when Premier League clubs will find out their potential opponents.
Champions League 2026/27 draw and format
The league phase draw for the 2026/27 Champions League will take place on Thursday in Monaco.
Thirty two out of the 36 teams set to compete in Europe’s premier tournament have secured their spot, while the other four slots will be decided through the qualifying rounds.
The final draw cannot be finalised until the second leg of the final qualifying-round fixtures are completed on Wednesday evening.
Every team will face two clubs from each of the four pots. Four matches will be played at home and away, although a computer system will determine each fixture during the draw.
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The pots are based on UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, which measure results in European competitions over a five-year period.
Premier League champions Arsenal are drawn alongside Liverpool and Manchester City in Pot 1, while Manchester United and Aston Villa are both in Pot 2 on their return to Europe’s top competition.
The Champions League will also follow its usual league phase format for a third season running.
The top eight teams will go straight into the last 16, while clubs finishing from ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged knockout play-off.
Teams finishing 25th or lower will be eliminated from the competition.
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The winners of those play-offs will then face one of the top-eight teams in the round of 16, setting up the route towards the quarter-finals.
Europa League & Conference League 2026/27 draw and format
The other four Premier League clubs are set to compete in Europe’s lower competitions, although Brighton & Hove Albion are yet to confirm their spot in the Conference League.
Bournemouth, Sunderland, and Palace will compete in a historic Europa League campaign for each side and will discover their opponents after the qualifying phase ends on Thursday.
The 2026/27 Europa League draw has been scheduled for Friday, August 28 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and will begin at 12pm UK time.
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The three English representatives will get a first look at the teams they will face in the competition as they make their first appearances in the new version of the Europa League.
The trio have been placed in Pot 3, although the final make-up of the pots will not be confirmed until the qualifying-round matches are completed.
That means Premier League supporters will have to wait until those ties conclude before learning the full list of clubs involved and the final pot positions.
The draw will follow a similar format to the Champions League. Each club will be given two opponents from each of the four pots and will play eight league-phase matches in total.
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Teams will play one home and one away fixture against clubs from each pot. UEFA’s draw system will also prevent clubs from facing another team from the same country during the league phase.
That means Bournemouth, Palace, and Sunderland cannot face off until the knockout stages.
The Conference League draw will follow immediately after the Europa League, and Brighton will hope to have secured their spot in Europe’s third-tier tournament before then.
The Seagulls were held to a goalless draw in the first leg of their qualifying clash against Tromso.
However, they will look to ride the wave of their 4-0 Premier League opening victory over Aston Villa when they welcome the Norwegians to the Amex Stadium for the second leg.
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