With the qualifiers done and dusted, 36 teams will soon find out who they will face in this year's Champions League league phase during the draw held on Thursday, August 28.
Last year marked the first edition of the revamped Champions League format, which saw the tournament move away from the group stage and introduce a new league phase.
PSG clinched their first Champions League title with a dominant 5-0 win over Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.
WATCH: Champions League draw LIVE on Stan Sport
Luis Enrique's side are once again one of the top contenders to win the trophy; however, they will have to overcome the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Chelsea to retain the title this season.
The Sporting News brings you all the essentials on when the draw will take place, where you can view the proceedings, and how it will work.
How to watch Champions League draw 2025: TV channel, live stream
- TV channel: None
- Live stream: Stan Sport
In Australia, you can watch the Champions League draw exclusively on Stan Sport.
For those around the globe in territories where a broadcast partner isn't designated, the draw can be streamed on UEFA.tv.
When is Champions League draw 2025?
The draw for the UEFA Champions League 'league phase' will be held on Friday, August 29 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The Europa League and Europa Conference League draw will then be held the following day, which is Saturday, August 30.
The fixture dates and times, however, will only be revealed until a few days after the draw.
Further draws for the Champions League knockout rounds will take place in early 2026, as detailed below, when the participants are determined.
Knockout round play-offs: January 30, 2026
Round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal: February 27, 2026
What time is Champions League draw 2025?
The 2025/26 Champions League draw will take place in Monaco on Thursday, August 28 at 6 p.m. local time.
Here's how that time translates across Australia:
| Date | Start time | |
| Australian Eastern Standard Time | Fri, Aug. 29 | 2:00 a.m. |
| Australian Central Daylight Time | Fri, Aug. 29 | 1:30 a.m. |
| Australian Western Standard Time | Fri, Aug. 29 | 12:00 a.m. |
How Champions League league phase draw will work in 2025
This year's Champions League will continue with the league phase which replaced the older group stage last season.
Just like before, all teams will be distributed between four pots, determined by UEFA club coefficient at the start of the season. The only exception is the reigning Champions League winner, who is placed into pot one regardless of standing. This season, with PSG as the defending champions, they would have been pot one anyways as one of the world's most successful and powerful clubs, so that exception won't come into play.
Each team will then be drawn against two clubs from the other pots, including their own pot, one to play at home and the other away. However, two clubs from the same country cannot face each other.
To create the matchups, the use of manually drawing balls from pots has been discontinued from last year onwards, in order to save time while respecting the new guidelines.
Instead, the initial team will be drawn from the pot, at which point an AI computer software will be used to create the matchups and determine home and away designations.