Champions League bracket and live rankings: Predict your winner for 2026-27 tournament!

By Ben Knapton | 08 Sep 2026 10:04, Last updated: 08 Sep 2026 10:10

Is determination a much iconic show successful European shot than 22 players lining up and taking successful the Champions League anthem portion the camera dilatory pans from look to face?

Seasoned continental veterans and Champions League first-timers volition soon acquisition that precise feeling, arsenic the league signifier of the 2026-27 tournament gets underway connected September 8, and nary less than 5 British teams person the trophy successful their sights.

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are flying the Union Jack high, but the Premier League quintet whitethorn person to extremity Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain's hopes of stardom to get their hands connected the celebrated handles.

Here, Sports Mole provides a broad Champions League array and unrecorded scores, arsenic good arsenic an interactive bracket for the knockout stages, allowing you to simulate the contention and foretell your victor based connected existent league-phase positions.

Champions League 2026-27: What you request to know

For the 3rd twelvemonth running, Europe's premier tourney - successful summation to the Europa League and Conference League - volition beryllium moving a 36-team league-phase format, arsenic the days of the aged radical signifier are further consigned to history.

The apical 8 teams volition each beforehand straight to the circular of 16, portion clubs ranking from ninth to 24th volition contention a two-legged playoff for the close to advancement to the 2nd knockout round; immoderate sides finishing 25th oregon little are eliminated, with nary Europa League information nett successful opposition to the aged format.

Teams were allocated into either Pots 1, 2, 3 oregon 4 for the league-phase gully based connected their UEFA coefficient, and each clubs volition look 2 teams from each pot, 1 astatine location and 1 away.

For the archetypal stage, teams who vie successful the aforesaid home league person been kept apart, and clubs besides cannot look much than 2 sides from a antithetic subordinate association, meaning that Arsenal could not travel up against 3 La Liga outfits, for example.

Should 2 oregon much teams find themselves level connected points astatine the extremity of the league phase, wide extremity quality volition beryllium the archetypal tie-breaker, aft which goals scored, distant goals scored, wins oregon distant wins whitethorn beryllium needed to abstracted them.

The league signifier runs from September 8 to January 27, and the knockout circular commences connected February 16, earlier the last astatine Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano connected June 5. 

PSG are the defending champions aft getting the amended of Arsenal successful past year's final, and the Parisians are aiming to go conscionable the 2nd squad to vie a Champions League three-peat successful the post-1992 era, aft Real Madrid's streak of occurrence betwixt 2014 and 2016.

Como, LASK, Sabah and Viking are each making their maiden appearances successful the Champions League proper, portion Real Betis are backmost successful Europe's premier contention for the archetypal clip successful 21 years.