Aston Villa will discover their eight Champions League league-phase opponents on Thursday evening as Unai Emery’s side prepare for another campaign among Europe’s elite. Villa have been placed in Pot 2 for the 2026/27 draw, with some of the biggest clubs in Europe potentially heading to Villa Park.
The Champions League draw begins at 5pm UK time on Thursday 27 August and will be streamed live through UEFA.com and UEFA.tv.
Villa will play eight different opponents, facing two teams from each of the four pots.
Four games will be played at Villa Park and four away.
Who can Aston Villa face in Champions League draw?
Villa are among nine clubs in Pot 2 alongside Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.
They cannot face another English club during the league phase.
Pot 1
Villa could be drawn against two of:
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
- Inter Milan
- Barcelona
- Atletico Madrid
Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are also in Pot 1 but cannot face Villa because clubs from the same association are kept apart.
A meeting with Real Madrid, Barcelona or defending European champions PSG would immediately give Villa Park another major Champions League occasion.
Pot 2
Despite being in Pot 2 themselves, Villa will still face two other clubs from the same pot.
Possible opponents are:
- Borussia Dortmund
- Roma
- Sporting CP
- Porto
- Club Brugge
- Real Betis
- PSV Eindhoven
Manchester United cannot be drawn against Villa.
Pot 3
Villa can potentially face any two teams from:
- Feyenoord
- Lille
- Bodø/Glimt
- Napoli
- RB Leipzig
- Villarreal
- Fenerbahçe
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Galatasaray
There are some difficult possibilities here.
Napoli and Leipzig would provide serious tests, while Galatasaray or Fenerbahçe away would produce two of the more hostile trips available.
Pot 4
The final two opponents will come from:
- Slavia Prague
- Slovan Bratislava
- Stuttgart
- AEK Athens
- LASK
- Como
- Lens
- Viking
- Sabah
Pot 4 contains some attractive-looking fixtures on paper, but Villa learned during their previous European campaigns that unfamiliar away trips can become difficult quickly.
How does the Champions League draw work?
The 36 clubs are divided into four pots based on UEFA coefficients.
Each club is assigned two opponents from every pot, including its own.
One game against a team from each pot will be played at home and the other away.
Clubs cannot face another side from their own domestic league and cannot be drawn against more than two teams from any one other country.
The draw combines a manual element with UEFA’s automated system to determine the eight opponents and whether each fixture is played home or away.
When will Aston Villa’s fixtures be confirmed?
Knowing the opponents tonight does not mean Villa will immediately know their complete schedule.
UEFA says the full league-phase fixture list, including dates and kick-off times, will be confirmed no later than Saturday 29 August.
The eight matchdays are:
Matchday 1: 8-10 September
Matchday 2: 13-14 October
Matchday 3: 20-21 October
Matchday 4: 3-4 November
Matchday 5: 24-25 November
Matchday 6: 8-9 December
Matchday 7: 19-20 January
Matchday 8: 27 January
The top eight teams in the final 36-team league table qualify directly for the last 16.
Teams finishing ninth to 24th enter the knockout phase play-offs, while those below 24th are eliminated from Europe.
Villa return to the Champions League following another outstanding campaign under Emery.
The squad has undergone enormous change since then, with Ollie Watkins now heading for Al-Hilal and Nicolas Jackson set to arrive from Chelsea.
Tonight they find out which European heavyweights that new-look Villa side will have to overcome.
