Countdown to a Champions League with a difference
The 2025/26 season is already taking shape and, as always, one of the highlights will be the Champions League. Barça, after narrowly missing out on the final in such cruel fashion against Inter Milan, will now start the campaign knowing they are one of the most feared teams in Europe, and are one of the prime contenders for the title to be decided on 30 May 2026 in Budapest.
Already under way
There's still a long way to go, of course, but the Champions League has already begun with the preliminary rounds starting this week. So although it only really gets going when the last 36 teams start the League Phase, it’s a good time to start thinking about the draw, and to explain an important change in the format.
League Phase draw on August 28
It won’t be until August 26 and 27, with the return legs of the fourth and final qualifying round, that all the teams for the League Phase will be confirmed. But we already know that FC Barcelona will be in Pot 1, along with Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSG, Inter, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund.
Although 29 of the 36 teams are already confirmed, the seven coming through the qualifiers will complete the remaining three pots, depending on their UEFA coefficient. Once again, teams will play eight matches, from September 16 to January 28, facing two teams from each pot — but not from their own domestic championship.
Important change
The biggest change to the format will come in the knockout stages. In the previous edition, Barça finished second in the League Phase, which gave them home advantage in the round of 16... but in no other round. Luck placed them in a part of the bracket that forced them to play the second leg of both the quarterfinal and semifinal away, as happened in Dortmund and Milan. That will no longer be the case.
UEFA has decided that the best-ranked teams in the League Phase will now have the advantage of playing the second leg at home in all knockout rounds. What’s more, if a lower-ranked team knocks out a higher-ranked one, they inherit that team’s position in terms of home advantage. For example, PSG eliminated Liverpool in the round of 16, after the English side had finished top in the league phase. If something similar were to happen again, PSG would 'capture' the right to play all their subsequent knockout rounds with home advantage in the return leg.
All of this will, of course, be easier to explain and understand once the ball starts rolling. For now, there are fewer than 50 days to go before Barça’s name appears in the Champions League draw.