Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - League Phase Draw - Grimaldi Forum, Monaco - August 27, 2026 UEFA Deputy Secretary General Giorgio Marchetti, former footballers Thierry Henry and David Villa and presenters Pedro Pinto and Reshmin Chowdhury look on as the screen shows the fixtures of pot 4 ahead of the league phase REUTERS/Manon CruzDefending champions Paris St Germain will face Barcelona and Manchester City, while the latter will have a reunion with their former midfielder Rodri when they face the Catalan giants. Fifteen-time champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, face Arsenal at Thursday’s Champions League draw.This will be the third season in which the Champions League will be played in the league-phase format, having been introduced in 2024/25.Manchester United, who return to the tournament that they have won thrice after an absence of three seasons, will have a repeat of the 1999 Champions League final when they Bayern Munich at home. They will face Bayern Munich (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Roma (home), Sporting Club (away), Leipzig (home), Villarreal (away), Sabah (home), Como (away).Premier League champions Arsenal face Real Madrid (home), Bayern Munich (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Real Betis (away), Lille (home), Napoli (away), Sabah (home), Slavia Prague (away). Manchester City, in their first season in the Champions League in a decade without Pep Guardiola at the helm, play PSG (home), Barcelona (away), Sporting Club (home), Porto (away), Napoli (home), Leipzig (away), AEK Athens (home), Lens (away).More to come…