The Blues will return to Europe’s elite competition this season after claiming the 2025/26 Barclays Women’s Super League title.
This will be our ninth season competing in the Champions League in our professional history, most recently reaching the quarter-finals in 2024/25.
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Our best performance saw us reach successive semi-finals in 2017 and 2018, when we were eliminated by eventual winners OL Lyonnes.
Find out more about next season’s tournament below…
League Phase Draw date
City have automatically qualified for the League Phase of the Champions League, after being crowned WSL champions.
The draw takes place on Friday 4 September in Nyon, Switzerland at 11:00 (UK), where City will discover which six teams we will face in the League Phase.
It’s available to follow live on UEFA.com, with reaction to the draw available on mancity.com and the official Man City app soon after its conclusion.
Draw procedure
The 18 participating teams will be split into three pots based on their individual club coefficient ranking, with titleholders Barcelona the top seeds in Pot 1.
Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other, meaning we can’t face Chelsea or Arsenal in the League Phase.
Each team may also only play against a maximum of two opponents from any other one association.
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What Pot are City in?
City have been placed in Pot 3 for Friday’s draw.
We’ll play two opponents from each of the pots, one at home and one away.
Pot 1
Barcelona (ESP, holders)
OL Lyonnes (FRA)
Chelsea (ENG)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Arsenal (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Pot 2
Real Madrid (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Hacken (SWE)
Roma (ITA)
Benfica (POR)
Paris FC (FRA)
Pot 3
Manchester City (ENG)
OH Leuven (BEL)
HB Koge (DEN)
Austria Wien (AUT)
Inter (ITA)
Servette (SUI)
League Phase structure
This is the second season where the Champions League has followed the league model, with 18 teams each playing six matches, three at home and three away.
After each team has played six matches, the top four will qualify automatically for the quarter-finals, with fifth to twelfth entering a two-legged play-off to reach the last eight.
Finishing fifth to eighth provides an additional advantage in those play-offs, as the second leg is guaranteed to be played on home soil.
Fixture dates
The dates and times of City’s fixtures will be confirmed following the League Phase draw on Friday 4 September, but UEFA have confirmed the games will take place in the below Matchweeks:
Matchday 1: 22/23 September
Matchday 2: 30 September/1 October
Matchday 3: 28/29 October
Matchday 4: 10/11 November
Matchday 5: 18/19 November
Matchday 6: 16 December
