Chelsea will discover their opponents in the league phase of the Champions League later this week.
It is a return to Europe’s top table for the current Conference League winners following a two-season absence and things have changed since the last time the Blues played a fixture in this competition.
The previous group stage of eight groups consisting of four teams each has been ditched in favour of a new league format.
As a result, all 36 teams will be separated into four pots and two will be drawn from each. They will face eight different opponents, playing four matches at home and four away.
While Chelsea are among the top seeds for the draw, they can still face the likes of holders Paris Saint-Germain - who they beat in the Club World Cup final last month - and La Liga champions Barcelona.
The draw takes place on Thursday, August 28, 2025 from 5pm BST and much of it will be automated due to the sheer number of fixtures to be organised.
The play-off ties across Tuesday and Wednesday will decide the remaining qualifiers and complete the subsequent pots before Enzo Maresca’s discovers the size of the task he faces this season.
Which pot are Chelsea in for the Champions League draw?
Chelsea have been placed in Pot 1, despite their current coefficient which has them sat 14th in UEFA’s rankings for European teams.
Who can Chelsea face in the Champions League draw?
The ceremony will produce eight opponents for every team, two from each pot. That means Chelsea will play two of the top-ranked clubs.
They cannot play a team from their own country (Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle or Manchester City) at this stage and can only play a maximum of two teams from a different association.
Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt
Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille
Pot 4: Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Club, Pafos, Kairat
Dream scenario for Chelsea
Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Leverkusen, Sporting, Slavia Prague, USG, Kairat.
Nightmare scenario for Chelsea
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, TBC, Napoli, Marseille, Galatasaray, TBC.
Champions League group-stage matchdays
The exact make-up of each week in terms of kick-off times and match dates will be provided by UEFA.
Matchday 1: September 16-17, 2025
Matchday 2: September 30-October 1, 2025
Matchday 3: October 21-22, 2025
Matchday 4: November 4-5, 2025
Matchday 5: November 25-26, 2025
Matchday 6: December 9-10, 2025
Matchday 7: January 20-21, 2026
Matchday 8: January 28, 2026
