The Champions League qualification rounds are underway with relative minnows and comparative giants battling it out for a spot in the league phase of Europe's premium club competition.
Twenty-nine teams have already booked their place in this season's edition, including six from England, due to Premier League clubs' performance against the UEFA co-efficient and Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League victory last term gaining them entry despite finishing 17th.
Seven more teams will join them in the league phase, via the qualification play-off route, which could include the likes of Scottish heavyweights Celtic and Rangers, the latter of which's Ibrox home ranked No. 1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best stadiums in Britain.
How does the new-look UEFA Champions League work?
In the league stage, the 36 qualified teams each contest eight fixtures, four home and four away, against a range of teams from Pot 1 to Pot 4. These pots will be decided on the basis of each team's recent performance in UEFA club competitions, except for holders Paris Saint-Germain, who are automatically placed in Pot 1.
Each team faces two opponents from each of the four pots, although they cannot play teams from the same country and cannot be drawn against more than two teams from the same nation.
Here is a breakdown of each team in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League.
AFC Ajax
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Eredivisie runners-up 2024-25
- Best finish: Winners (1971, 1972, 1973, 1995)
- Key Player(s): Oscar Gloukh, Mika Godts
Arsenal
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 2nd place in Premier League
- Best finish: Runners-up (2006)
- Key Player(s): Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba
Atalanta
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 3rd in Serie A
- Best finish: Quarter-final (2020)
- Key Player(s): Ademola Lookman, Marten de Roon
Athletic Club
- Likely Pot: 3/4
- Qualified through: 4th in LaLiga
- Best finish: Quarter-final (1957)
- Key Player(s): Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams, Iñaki Williams
Atletico Madrid
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 3rd in LaLiga
- Best finish: Runners-up (1974, 2014, 2016)
- Key Player(s): Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sørloth, Marcos Llorente
Borussia Dortmund
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: 4th in Bundesliga
- Best finish: Winners (1997)
- Key Player(s): Serhou Guirassy, Nico Schlotterbeck
Barcelona
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: LaLiga champions
- Best finish: Winners (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)
- Key Player(s): Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi
Bayern Munich
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: Bundesliga winners
- Best finish: Winners (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020)
- Key Player(s): Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Joshua Kimmich
Chelsea
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: 4th in Premier League
- Best finish: Winners (2012, 2021)
- Key Player(s):
Eintracht Frankfurt
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 3rd in Bundesliga
- Best finish: Runners-up (1960)
- Key Player(s): Nathaniel Brown
Galatasaray
- Likely Pot: 3/4
- Qualified through: Turkish Super Lig winners
- Best finish: Semi-final (1989)
- Key Player(s): Victor Osimhen
Inter Milan
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: Serie A runners-up
- Best finish: Winners (1964, 1965, 2010)
- Key Player(s): Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella
Juventus
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 4th in Serie A
- Best finish: Winners (1985, 1996)
- Key Player(s): Dusan Vlahovic, Andrea Cambiaso
Bayer Leverkusen
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 2nd in Bundesliga
- Best finish: Runners-up (2002)
- Key Player(s): Edmond Tapsoba, Victor Boniface
Liverpool
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: Premier League champions
- Best finish: Winners (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019)
- Key Player(s): Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk
Manchester City
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: 3rd in Premier League
- Best finish: Winners (2023)
- Key Player(s): Erling Haaland, Rodri
Olympique de Marseille
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: 2nd in Ligue 1
- Best finish: Winners (1993)
- Key Player(s): Leonardo Balerdi, Timothy Weah, Igor Paixao
AS Monaco
- Likely Pot: 3/4
- Qualified through: 3rd in Ligue 1
- Best finish: Runners-up (2004)
- Key Player(s): Eliesse Ben Seghir, Maghnes Akliouche, Mika Biereth
Napoli
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Serie A winners
- Best finish: Quarter-final (2023)
- Key Player(s): Scott McTominay, Amir Rrahmani, Kevin De Bruyne
Newcastle United
- Likely Pot: 3/4
- Qualified through: 5th in Premier League
- Best finish: Second group stage (2003)
- Key Player(s): Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak
Olympiacos
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Greek Super League winners
- Best finish: Quarter-final (1999)
- Key Player(s): Ayoub El Kaabi, Gelson Martins
Paris Saint-Germain
- Pot: 1
- Qualified through: Champions League holders
- Best finish: Winners (2025)
- Key Player(s): Marquinhos, Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
PSV Eindhoven
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Eredivisie champions
- Best finish: Winners (1988)
- Key Player(s): Ivan Perisic, Joey Veerman
Real Madrid
- Likely Pot: 1
- Qualified through: Runners-up in LaLiga
- Best finish: Winners (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024)
- Key Player(s): Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde
Slavia Prague
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Czech First League champions
- Best finish: Group stage (2008, 2020)
- Key Player(s): Lukas Provod
Sporting CP
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Liga Portugal champions
- Best finish: Quarter-final (1983)
- Key Player(s): Morten Hjulmand, Ousmane Diomande, Geovany Quenda
Tottenham Hotspur
- Likely Pot: 2/3
- Qualified through: Europa League winners
- Best finish: Runners-up (2019)
- Key Player(s): Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise
- Likely Pot: 3/4
- Qualified through: Belgian Pro League champions
- Best finish: N/A
- Key Player(s): Promise David, Mohammed Fuseini
Villarreal
- Likely Pot: 2
- Qualified through: 5th in LaLiga
- Best finish: Semi-final (2006)
- Key Player(s): Yeremy Pino
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