We now know all 36 participants in the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League, with the play-off round concluding on Wednesday night.
Liverpool are involved for a ninth time in 10 seasons, having scraped into the competition thanks to the Premier League getting an extra European Performance Spot, which meant that fifth place domestically was ultimately good enough to qualify.
The Reds have a long-held affinity with this competition both before and after the landmark Champions League rebranding in the early 1990s, and for Andoni Iraola it’s a venture into the unknown as head coach.
Liverpool will discover their eight league phase opponents when the draw is made shortly after 5pm BST on Thursday. We’ve assessed the best and worst possible outcomes for LFC, with the following criteria set out by UEFA:
- Teams from the same national association can’t meet in the league phase
- Teams will face two clubs from each pot (one at home, one away), but can only face a maximum of two clubs from the same national association
- A specific fixture cannot be repeated in the league phase for more than two seasons in succession, which precludes Liverpool from having a home match against Real Madrid for the third year in a row (but the teams could face each other at the Bernabeu)
(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Which teams are in which pot for the Champions League draw?Best-case scenario for LiverpoolBarcelona (H), Inter (A), Porto (H), Brugge (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Shakhtar (A), Sabah (H), LASK (A)
Barcelona coming back to Anfield would obviously bring back special memories of that night in May 2019, while Liverpool have won at the San Siro in each of the past two seasons (Milan 2024/25, Inter last year), so they won’t fear another away clash against the Nerazzurri.
Porto were familiar opponents for us during the Jurgen Klopp years, with six matches yielding five wins for the Reds and just one draw (which came after we’d won the first leg 5-0), so Iraola’s team would fancy their chances against them at Anfield. Meanwhile, a trip to Brugge would be a brilliant away day for fans and would evoke memories of European final triumphs in 1976 and 1978.
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Bodo/Glimt have enjoyed some terrific European campaigns in recent years, but Liverpool would much rather have them at Anfield than face them in the Arctic Circle. As for Shakhtar away, that’d ordinary be a hellish trip for English teams, but the Ukrainian side are playing their ‘home’ games at Stamford Bridge this season, so logistically that’d be favourable for the Reds in the Champions League.
Sabah from Azerbaijan are the lowest-ranked team in the league phase, and we thumped their compatriots Qarabag 6-0 at home in this tournament back in January. Another trip to Austria to face LASK would be welcomed by Kopites who made the journey to Linz for a Europa League tie in 2023, although their shock elimination of Celtic serves as a warning not to take them lightly.
Alright then…what about the worst-case scenario?PSG (H), Real Madrid (A), PSV (H), Roma (A), Napoli (H), Galatasaray (A), Lens (H), AEK (A)
Reigning champions PSG have wreaked enough havoc on us over the past 18 months and are going for a third successive Champions League triumph, so let’s avoid them if we can! Also, we’ve had more than enough of Real Madrid in the past decade, so here’s hoping the supercomputer doesn’t send us to the Bernabeu.
PSV at home doesn’t seem overly daunting, but the PTSD from their 4-1 romp at Anfield last November is still raw. Roma at the Stadio Olimpico might hold happy memories from 1984 and 2018, but it’s also the kind of intimidating European trip that Liverpool could do without.
We’ve beaten Napoli three times at Anfield since 2018 (in contrast to our awful record at their place), but we’d rather not come up against them once again. Likewise, a third visit to Galatasaray since last September can get in the bin, especially having lost twice to them in Istanbul in the past year.
Lens made PSG sweat in an actual Ligue 1 title race last term and have upset English clubs in the past, so they’re one to avoid from Pot 4. Of the potential far-flung away journeys, one we’d rather swerve is a trip to Athens to face AEK – that doesn’t exactly scream ‘fun’.