The 2026/27 Champions League is on the way, and Liverpool has discovered its opponents for the upcoming league phase of the season.
Since the introduction of the new format, which involves eight matches and a league table that brings all of the teams together, the Reds have excelled in the early phase.
The first campaign brought about a first-place finish, while last season saw the team finish third in the overall standings, showing how well Liverpool has done in the league campaign at the very least.
European nights at Anfield are almost back. This is Liverpool's third successive Champions League campaign, having not been involved in 2023/24, but the Reds did reach the final in 2018, 2019 and 2022. The last time the final was at the Metropolitano in Madrid, Jürgen Klopp's team beat Tottenham, hoping that is a good omen for 2027.
As always, the biggest names in European football all congregated at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco for the draw ceremony on Thursday evening. After much pomp and ceremony, the majority of which is very unnecessary, the draw did eventually take place, so find out who Andoni Iraola's team will come up against.
Liverpool's 8 Champions League opponents
Home
- Pot 1: Atlético Madrid
- Pot 2: Porto
- Pot 3: Villarreal
- Pot 4: Lens
Away
- Pot 1: Internazionale Milano
- Pot 2: Club Brugge
- Pot 3: Fenerbahçe
- Pot 4: LASK
Our #UCL league phase opponents have been confirmed ✅ pic.twitter.com/02r6rvNf50
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 27, 2026
Liverpool's draw is tough. All four of their home games are against teams from one of Europe's top five leagues, and Atlético Madrid are certainly familiar foes at Anfield. Meantime, Porto and Villarreal have also visited Merseyside in recent times, while the Reds will take on Lens for the very first time.
Iraola's team will visit San Siro to take on Inter away from home, as well as travelling to take on Club Brugge and Fenerbahçe. Lastly, LASK are debutants in the Champions League, albeit Liverpool did face them in the Europa League three seasons ago, 3-1 winners at Raiffeisen Arena.
Most of these games are challenging but, once again, the Reds will believe they can accumulate enough points to finish in the top eight. Avoiding true heavyweights such as PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich is a positive.
When will Liverpool's Champions League fixture list be released?
According to UEFA, the full fixture list, including dates, venues and kick off times, will be released on Saturday morning at the latest. This was published at 11am (BST) last year, which is not ideal for those in attendance at Anfield for the visit of Nottingham Forest.
How does the Champions League league phase work?
36 clubs are involved. Every team plays eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away. After the final matchday, the top eight clubs advance straight through to the round of 16. Teams ranked between nine and 24 then enter the play-offs, needing to prevail to join the top eight in the last 16. Clubs ranked 25 and below are eliminated from UEFA competition.
Liverpool finished top of the very first league phase two seasons ago, before coming third last time round. However, this did not help Arne Slot's side very much, dumped out by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain both times soon after.
How can I watch Liverpool in the Champions Leeague?
In the UK, the vast majority of Champions League matches are live on TNT Sports and HBO Max. However, Amazon Prime Video get first pick of a Tuesday night fixture in each round. So, expect at least a couple of the Reds' stand-out fixture to be on there.
In the United States, CBS Sports Golazo and Paramount+ is your place to go for Champions League coverage. Other global broadcasters include Stan Sport in Australia, DAZN in Canada and Canal+ Sport in Africa.
Champions League 2026/27 league phase fixture dates
- Matchday 1: 8-10 September.
- Matchday 2: 13 & 14 October.
- Matchday 3: 20 & 21 October.
- Matchday 4: 3 & 4 November.
- Matchday 5: 24 & 25 November.
- Matchday 6: 8 & 9 December.
- Matchday 7: 19 & 20 January.
- Matchday 8: Wednesday 27 January.
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