How the 2026-27 Champions League League Phase Works and Who Starts as Favourites
The 2026-27 Champions League begins its league phase on Tuesday with Matchday 1. For the 36 clubs in the competition, the opening round is the start of a long journey toward the knockout stages. The immediate target for everyone is the same: finish inside the top 24.
A Format Built Around a Single Table
The league phase is the competition's current format, introduced for 2024-25. It replaced the old group stage with one 36-team standings table. The final positions after the league phase decide which clubs move into the knockout rounds. According to UEFA, Barcelona have been the most dangerous attacking side in this format so far, scoring 50 goals across the first two editions—eight more than any other club.
The Title Race Already Has a Favourite
Early forecasts give Arsenal the best chance of lifting the trophy. BBC Sport's pre-season analysis made last season's runners-up the overall favourites with a 20.4 percent probability. Bayern Munich, who lost to PSG in the semi-finals, are close behind at 20 percent, and Manchester City, the 2023 winners, sit third at 12.7 percent. The defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, are rated fourth at 7.3 percent.
Those numbers come from predictive models. They are not settled facts, but they capture an unusually open race at the top.
PSG's Search for a Third Straight Title
PSG enter the league phase chasing something rare. They are trying to become only the second team in the Champions League era to win three consecutive titles. The only club to do it is Real Madrid, who won from 2015-16 to 2017-18. In ESPN's pre-season power rankings, PSG collected nine of 19 first-place votes: recognition of their status as back-to-back holders rather than a guarantee of what follows.
The league phase also brings early personal storylines. Real Madrid's new coach, José Mourinho, faces two former clubs, Inter Milan and AS Roma, between now and the end of January. Those fixtures arrive with standings on the line, not just sentiment.
Why Matchday 1 Matters
The league phase unfolds over a series of matchdays before the knockout stage begins. With every result feeding into one table, an early win creates the kind of cushion that matters when the calendar gets crowded. A poor start does not end a campaign, but it narrows the margin for error. The top 24 move on; the rest go home. That makes the opening round more meaningful than an ordinary first fixture: it sets the conditions for the rest of the season.