UCL Draw: Champions PSG Lead 36 Clubs Into Thursday’s Showdown

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will headline Thursday’s UEFA Champions League draw as 36 clubs prepare to discover their opponents for the league phase of the competition.

The draw is expected to set the stage for another highly competitive European campaign, with some of the continent’s biggest clubs involved in the revamped Champions League format.

PSG enter the draw as reigning European champions after their historic triumph last season. The French giants will be among the teams attracting significant attention as clubs learn the opponents they will face during the league phase.

The new Champions League format features 36 teams competing in a single league table rather than the traditional group-stage system.

Each club will play eight league-phase matches against different opponents, with four games played at home and four away.

The draw will determine the fixtures and opponents for each participating club, creating several potentially high-profile encounters between Europe’s leading sides.

The top teams in the league phase will automatically progress to the knockout stages, while clubs finishing in the middle positions will have to navigate a play-off round to secure places in the last 16.

Teams finishing at the bottom of the standings will be eliminated from European competition.

PSG will be hoping to build on their European success and begin their title defence strongly.

Other leading clubs will also enter the competition with ambitions of challenging for the trophy, ensuring that Thursday’s draw could produce several exciting matchups.

The Champions League remains one of the most prestigious competitions in world football, attracting global attention whenever the fixtures are announced.

For the participating clubs, the draw will provide an early indication of the challenges ahead and allow managers and players to begin planning for the demanding European schedule.

With 36 clubs involved, the league phase promises a wider range of fixtures and more opportunities for Europe’s elite teams to meet.

The draw will therefore mark the official beginning of the road towards the next Champions League final, with PSG leading the field as defending champions.