UEFA draws pair AEK Athens and Olympiacos with Real Madrid and Milan in European league phases

Champions League draw sets AEK Athens fixtures

UEFA held the draw for the 2026–27 Champions League league phase on Thursday afternoon, 27 August 2026, in Monaco. AEK Athens, competing under manager Marko Nikolić as Greece's sole representative in the tournament, learned their eight opponents from across four seeded pots. From pot one, AEK will host Spanish champions Real Madrid at home and travel to face Manchester City in England. From pot two, the Greek champions were drawn away to Borussia Dortmund in Germany and at home against AS Roma. From the remaining pots, AEK will play away against Shakhtar Donetsk and Como, while staging home fixtures against Galatasaray and Austrian side LASK.

Matchups across the Champions League

The computer-assisted draw also established the fixture lists for the remaining 35 teams competing in the competition's 36-team single league. Arsenal will play home ties against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund alongside an away match against Bayern Munich, with Greek forward Christos Tzolis in the English side's squad. Borussia Dortmund, featuring Giannis Konstantelias and Konstantinos Karetsas, will face Inter Milan, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and AEK. French champions Paris Saint-Germain received a slate that includes matches against Barcelona and Manchester City. Portuguese side Sporting CP, whose squad includes Greek internationals Georgios Vagiannidis and Fotis Ioannidis, will take on Barcelona, Manchester City, and Manchester United.

Olympiacos receive eight Europa League opponents

On Friday, 28 August 2026, UEFA conducted the Europa League league phase draw in Monaco, assigning opponents to Greece's representative Olympiacos. Entering the draw from pot one following their previous Conference League campaign, the team managed by José Luis Mendilibar will play four home and four away matches. Olympiacos will host AC Milan, Sparta Prague, Polish champions Jagiellonia Białystok, and German club Hoffenheim at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. Away from home, the Piraeus club will travel to France to face Marseille and Rennes, to Slovenia to play Celje, and to Portugal to meet Torreense. Match broadcasts in Greece will be handled by Cosmote TV, with select fixtures on ANT1, while full fixture dates will be announced by 30 August.

Single table format and knockout qualification

Both the Champions League and Europa League feature 36 clubs ranked together in a single league table rather than traditional group stages. Each participant plays eight games against eight different clubs, divided evenly between four home and four away fixtures. The teams finishing in the top eight positions at the end of the league phase qualify directly for the round of 16. Clubs finishing between 9th and 24th place enter a two-legged playoff round in February 2027, with sides placed 9th to 16th hosting the second leg. The 12 clubs finishing 25th through 36th are eliminated from European competition, as teams no longer drop into lower UEFA tournaments.

Schedule and tiebreaker regulations

The Champions League league phase begins on 8 September 2026 and concludes on 27 January 2027, followed by the final on 5 June 2027 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. The Europa League phase starts on 16 September 2026 and finishes on 28 January 2027, leading to the final on 26 May 2027 at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt. Tiebreakers in the single standings prioritize goal difference, total goals scored, away goals scored, total wins, and away wins. Subsequent tiebreakers evaluate points, goal difference, and goals scored in matches against common league phase opponents, followed by disciplinary points and UEFA club coefficient rankings.