Overview

• The Monaco draw completed the 36-club league phase with four pots of nine, using software rules to prevent same‑nation pairings.
• Each club will face eight different opponents (four home, four away); the top eight reach the round of 16, places 9–24 go to two‑leg playoffs, and 25–36 are eliminated without dropping to the Europa League.
• From this season the higher finisher in the league table hosts the return leg in every knockout tie, and any lower‑ranked team that ousts them inherits that home‑second‑leg advantage in the next round.
• UEFA confirmed the calendar: league phase from September 16 to January 28, playoffs in February, knockouts March–May, and the Budapest final on May 30 with a 18:00 kickoff.
• Pot compositions include heavyweights such as PSG, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern and Liverpool in Pot 1; England leads with six entrants and Spain has five, while playoff winners like Benfica, Club Brugge, Copenhagen and Qarabağ complete the field.