Champions League draw reveals league-phase opponents for the 36-team field

The Champions League has its 36-team field, its four seeding pots and, following Thursday's draw in Monaco, a complete set of league-phase opponents. This season's draw has produced several heavyweight meetings, including Arsenal hosting Real Madrid and travelling to Bayern Munich, Liverpool welcoming Atlético Madrid before heading to Inter Milan, and Manchester City being paired with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona. Manchester United's return to Europe's elite also brings a blockbuster reunion with Bayern Munich at Old Trafford, while Aston Villa have been handed a particularly glamorous reward for winning the Europa League. With every team facing eight different opponents, here is how the new Champions League campaign has been put together.

How the Champions League league phase works

The 36 clubs are divided into four pots according to their UEFA coefficient rankings and results in European competition over the previous five years. Each club is then drawn against two teams from each pot, giving every side eight league-phase matches in total. The schedule is split evenly between home and away fixtures, so every club will play four matches at home and four away. Across the entire league phase, that produces 144 matches. The format also determines what happens after those eight games. The top eight teams in the standings advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing from ninth through 24th enter the knockout-phase play-offs. The remaining sides are eliminated. There are also important restrictions on the draw. The five Premier League clubs cannot be drawn against one another during the league phase, while UEFA has introduced a further condition preventing the same fixture from being repeated with the same home team for three consecutive seasons. That means Liverpool cannot host Real Madrid again, while Inter Milan cannot host Arsenal again, after those fixtures were played with the same home teams in the previous two seasons.

Pot 1: The European heavyweights

The first pot contains the defending champions and some of the biggest names in European football, giving the teams drawn from the lower pots the possibility of facing some formidable opposition.

Paris Saint-Germain

Bayern Munich

Real Madrid

Liverpool

Inter Milan

Manchester City

Arsenal

Barcelona

Atlético Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain enter as the two-time defending European champions, having beaten Arsenal in last season's final.

Pot 2: United return alongside European heavyweights

Manchester United are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and will be drawn from the second pot.

Borussia Dortmund

Roma

Sporting CP

Aston Villa

Porto

Manchester United

Club Brugge

Real Betis

PSV Eindhoven

Aston Villa also enter this group after winning the Europa League, while Dortmund and Porto bring their own European pedigree.

Pot 3: A dangerous middle ground

Pot 3 contains several clubs capable of making life difficult for the competition's traditional giants.

Feyenoord

Lille

Bodø/Glimt

Napoli

RB Leipzig

Villarreal

Fenerbahçe

Shakhtar Donetsk

Galatasaray

Bodø/Glimt will be particularly familiar to viewers who followed last season's competition. The Norwegian club became one of the stories of the tournament after beating Manchester City, Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan during a remarkable run before reaching the round of 16. Fenerbahçe also return to the competition proper after beating Lyon 3-2 on aggregate in qualifying, their first appearance in the main tournament since 2008-09.

Pot 4: The newcomers and potential surprises

Pot 4 completes the field, with several clubs making their debut in the competition proper.

Slavia Prague

Slovan Bratislava

Stuttgart

AEK Athens

LASK

Como

Lens

Viking

Sabah

Viking reached the league phase after beating Dinamo Zagreb 5-3 on aggregate, while Sabah, LASK and Como are also entering the competition proper for the first time. Como will be coached by former Champions League runner-up Cesc Fàbregas.

The five Premier League clubs

The English clubs have been handed a mixture of blockbuster ties and potentially awkward away trips, although none can face another Premier League side in this phase.

Arsenal

Last season's runners-up have arguably been handed one of the most eye-catching schedules in the competition. Arsenal will host Real Madrid in a heavyweight encounter and travel to Bayern Munich, while also facing Borussia Dortmund at home and Real Betis away. Their full schedule is:

Real Madrid — home

Bayern Munich — away

Borussia Dortmund — home

Real Betis — away

Lille — home

Napoli — away

Sabah — home

Slavia Prague — away

Liverpool

Liverpool will welcome Atlético Madrid to Anfield before travelling to face Inter Milan at San Siro. The Reds' eight opponents are:

Atlético Madrid — home

Inter Milan — away

Porto — home

Club Brugge — away

Villarreal — home

Fenerbahçe — away

Lens — home

LASK — away

The Inter fixture also gives Curtis Jones an immediate reunion with his former club following his reported €30 million ($35.1 million) move to the Italian side. Liverpool's draw also means there will be no repeat of their previous home meetings with Real Madrid.

Manchester City

Manchester City face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain at home and travel to Barcelona, giving them two of the biggest possible fixtures in the league phase. Their complete schedule is:

Paris Saint-Germain — home

Barcelona — away

Sporting CP — home

Porto — away

Napoli — home

RB Leipzig — away

AEK Athens — home

Lens — away

City only scraped through the league phase last season, so they will face another demanding campaign against a mixture of established European sides and potentially tricky opponents from the lower pots.

Manchester United

United's return to the Champions League begins with a huge fixture at Old Trafford against Bayern Munich, a repeat of one of European football's most famous final matchups. Michael Carrick's side will also travel to Atlético Madrid and host Roma. Their eight fixtures are:

Bayern Munich — home

Atlético Madrid — away

Roma — home

Sporting CP — away

RB Leipzig — home

Villarreal — away

Sabah — home

Como — away

Aston Villa

Aston Villa's reward for winning the Europa League is a league-phase schedule featuring Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund. Unai Emery's side will host PSG and Dortmund, while travelling to Barcelona and Club Brugge. Their fixtures are:

Paris Saint-Germain — home

Barcelona — away

Borussia Dortmund — home

Club Brugge — away

Fenerbahçe — home

Galatasaray — away

Viking — home

Slavia Prague — away

The rest of the league phase

With 36 teams and eight opponents apiece, there is plenty more beyond the English clubs. Here is the complete draw, with home and away venues included.

Real Madrid

Inter Milan — home

Arsenal — away

PSV Eindhoven — home

Roma — away

RB Leipzig — home

Shakhtar Donetsk — away

LASK — home

AEK Athens — away

Inter Milan

Liverpool — home

Real Madrid — away

Club Brugge — home

Borussia Dortmund — away

Shakhtar Donetsk — home

Feyenoord — away

Stuttgart — home

Slovan Bratislava — away

Barcelona

Manchester City — home

Paris Saint-Germain — away

Aston Villa — home

Sporting CP — away

Feyenoord — home

Galatasaray — away

Como — home

Sabah — away

Atlético Madrid

Bayern Munich — home

Liverpool — away

Manchester United — home

PSV Eindhoven — away

Fenerbahçe — home

Bodø/Glimt — away

Viking — home

Stuttgart — away

Paris Saint-Germain

Barcelona — home

Manchester City — away

Roma — home

Aston Villa — away

Galatasaray — home

Villarreal — away

Slovan Bratislava — home

Como — away

Bayern Munich

Arsenal — home

Atlético Madrid — away

Real Betis — away

Manchester United — away

Bodø/Glimt — home

Lille — away

Slavia Prague — home

Viking — away

Borussia Dortmund

Inter Milan — home

Arsenal — away

Real Betis — home

Aston Villa — away

Villarreal — home

Bodø/Glimt — away

AEK Athens — home

Sabah — away

Porto

Manchester City — home

Liverpool — away

PSV Eindhoven — home

Real Betis — away

Napoli — home

Feyenoord — away

Slavia Prague — home

LASK — away

Real Betis

Arsenal — home

Bayern Munich — away

Porto — home

Borussia Dortmund — away

Feyenoord — home

Lille — away

Como — home

Slovan Bratislava — away

Roma

Real Madrid — home

Paris Saint-Germain — away

Sporting CP — home

Manchester United — away

Lille — home

Fenerbahçe — away

Slovan Bratislava — home

AEK Athens — away

Sporting CP

Barcelona — home

Manchester City — away

Manchester United — home

Roma — away

Galatasaray — home

Shakhtar Donetsk — away

LASK — home

Lens — away

PSV Eindhoven

Atlético Madrid — home

Real Madrid — away

Club Brugge — home

Porto — away

Shakhtar Donetsk — home

RB Leipzig — away

Stuttgart — home

Viking — away

Shakhtar Donetsk

Real Madrid — home

Inter Milan — away

Sporting CP — home

PSV Eindhoven — away

Fenerbahçe — home

RB Leipzig — away

AEK Athens — home

Slovan Bratislava — away

Villarreal

Paris Saint-Germain — home

Liverpool — away

Manchester United — home

Borussia Dortmund — away

Napoli — home

Fenerbahçe — away

Sabah — home

Slavia Prague — away

Bodø/Glimt

Atlético Madrid — home

Bayern Munich — away

Borussia Dortmund — home

Club Brugge — away

Lille — home

Napoli — away

LASK — home

Lens — away

RB Leipzig

Manchester City — home

Real Madrid — away

PSV Eindhoven — home

Manchester United — away

Shakhtar Donetsk — home

Feyenoord — away

Lens — home

Como — away

Fenerbahçe

Liverpool — home

Atlético Madrid — away

Roma — home

Aston Villa — away

Villarreal — home

Shakhtar Donetsk — away

Slavia Prague — home

LASK — away

Feyenoord

Inter Milan — home

Barcelona — away

Porto — home

Real Betis — away

RB Leipzig — home

Galatasaray — away

Como — home

Viking — away

Galatasaray

Barcelona — home

Paris Saint-Germain — away

Aston Villa — home

Sporting CP — away

Feyenoord — home

Lille — away

Stuttgart — home

AEK Athens — away

Napoli

Arsenal — home

Manchester City — away

Club Brugge — home

Porto — away

Bodø/Glimt — home

Villarreal — away

Viking — home

Sabah — away

Lille

Bayern Munich — home

Arsenal — away

Real Betis — home

Roma — away

Galatasaray — home

Bodø/Glimt — away

Slovan Bratislava — home

Stuttgart — away

Slavia Prague

Arsenal — home

Bayern Munich — away

Aston Villa — home

Porto — away

Villarreal — home

Fenerbahçe — away

Lens — home

Sabah — away

Stuttgart

Atlético Madrid — home

Inter Milan — away

Club Brugge — home

PSV Eindhoven — away

Lille — home

Galatasaray — away

Viking — home

Slovan Bratislava — away

Sabah

Barcelona — home

Arsenal — away

Borussia Dortmund — home

Manchester United — away

Napoli — home

Villarreal — away

Slavia Prague — home

Viking — away

AEK Athens

Real Madrid — home

Manchester City — away

Roma — home

Borussia Dortmund — away

Galatasaray — home

Shakhtar Donetsk — away

LASK — home

Como — away

Lens

Manchester City — home

Liverpool — away

Sporting CP — home

Club Brugge — away

Bodø/Glimt — home

RB Leipzig — away

Como — home

Slavia Prague — away

Como

Paris Saint-Germain — home

Barcelona — away

Manchester United — home

Real Betis — away

RB Leipzig — home

Feyenoord — away

AEK Athens — home

Lens — away

Viking

Bayern Munich — home

Atlético Madrid — away

PSV Eindhoven — home

Aston Villa — away

Feyenoord — home

Napoli — away

Sabah — home

Stuttgart — away