By Enitan Abdultawab
The 2026/27 UEFA Champions League season is set to get underway in September, with 36 teams competing in the league phase under the competition’s revamped format.
The opening round of league-phase matches will be played between September 8 and 10, 2026, with each club facing eight different opponents before the knockout stage begins.
The league phase will run until January 2027, with the final round of matches scheduled for January 27.
The competition’s new format, which was introduced in the 2024/25 season, sees all 36 teams placed in one league table rather than being separated into traditional groups.
Each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents, with four games played at home and four away. The opponents are selected from four seeding pots, with each club facing two teams from each pot.
The top eight teams in the league standings at the end of the eight matchdays will automatically qualify for the round of 16.
Teams finishing from ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged knockout play-off for the remaining eight places in the round of 16. Clubs that finish between 25th and 36th will be eliminated from European competition.
The league-phase schedule is as follows:
Matchday 1: September 8-10, 2026
Matchday 2: October 13-14, 2026
Matchday 3: October 20-21, 2026
Matchday 4: November 3-4, 2026
Matchday 5: November 24-25, 2026
Matchday 6: December 8-9, 2026
Matchday 7: January 19-20, 2027
Matchday 8: January 27, 2027
Following the conclusion of the league phase, the knockout-stage play-offs will be contested over two legs on February 16/17 and February 23/24, 2027.
The round of 16 will then take place on March 9/10 and March 16/17, while the quarter-finals are scheduled for April 6/7 and April 13/14.
The semi-final first legs will be played on April 27/28, with the return legs taking place on May 4/5.
The Champions League final is scheduled for June 5, 2027, at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain.
The new league-phase system means clubs must navigate a longer and more competitive opening stage, with every result potentially having an impact on their position in the table and their route to the knockout rounds.
The post 2026/27 Champions League: All confirmed league phase schedules, fixtures appeared first on Vanguard News.
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