Right now, clubs like Olympique Lyon and Celtic are still fighting through qualifying rounds - while 29 others never had to play a single competitive match to get here. Here's how it actually works, and where every club stands as of 4 August 2026.

The Format

Already Confirmed - 29 Clubs

A country's 5-year UEFA coefficient decides who skips qualifying entirely. England's top 5 clubs, for instance, go straight to the league phase off the back of their domestic finish alone - while a champion from a lower-ranked association has to win up to three qualifying rounds just to reach the same stage these clubs reached by finishing their league season.

AS Roma

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Atlético Madrid

Bayern München

Borussia Dortmund

Club Brugge

Como 1907

FC Barcelona

FC Porto

Feyenoord

Galatasaray

Internazionale

Lille OSC

Liverpool

Manchester City

Manchester United

Napoli

PSV Eindhoven

Paris Saint-Germain

RB Leipzig

RC Lens

Real Betis

Real Madrid

Shakhtar Donetsk

Slavia Praha

Sporting CP Lisbon

VfB Stuttgart

Villarreal

Still Fighting for a Spot - 24 Clubs

The remaining places are being decided in the Third Qualifying Round, split into two separate roads: the Champions Path (clubs from lower-ranked associations, fighting since Q1) and the League Path (clubs from stronger associations who often only enter at this late stage). Winners advance to the Play-off Round on 18 August - one win away from the league phase.

Champions Path

Red Star BelgradeBye to Q2Q2: beat Larne FC

vs

Hapoel Beer-ShevaBye to Q2Q2: beat Víkingur Reykjavík

Winner plays the winner of AGF Aarhus – Sabah FK

Dinamo ZagrebBye to Q2Q2: beat FC Thun

vs

Kauno ŽalgirisQ1: beat FC DritaQ2: beat KÍ Klaksvík

Winner plays Viking Stavanger

Slovan BratislavaBye to Q2Q2: beat FC Iberia 1999

vs

Mjällby AIFBye to Q2Q2: beat Lincoln Red Imps

Winner plays the winner of Ararat-Armenia – NK Celje

Kairat AlmatyQ1: beat Sutjeska NikšićQ2: beat Omonia Nicosia

vs

Levski SofiaQ1: beat Borac Banja LukaQ2: beat Universitatea Craiova

Winner plays AEK Athens

AGF AarhusBye to Q2Q2: beat Lech Poznań

vs

Sabah FKQ1: beat The New SaintsQ2: beat KuPS Kuopio

Winner plays the winner of Red Star Belgrade – Hapoel Beer-Sheva

Ararat-ArmeniaQ1: beat Riga FCQ2: beat Shamrock Rovers

vs

NK CeljeBye to Q2 (title-holder rebalance)Q2: beat KF Egnatia

Winner plays the winner of Slovan Bratislava – Mjällby AIF

League Path

Olympiakos PiraeusBye straight to Q3

vs

NEC NijmegenBye straight to Q3

Winner plays the winner of Union Saint-Gilloise – Bodø/Glimt

Union Saint-GilloiseBye straight to Q3

vs

Bodø/GlimtBye straight to Q3

Winner plays the winner of Olympiakos Piraeus – NEC Nijmegen

FenerbahçeQ2: beat Górnik Zabrze

vs

Sturm GrazQ2: beat Heart of Midlothian

Winner plays the winner of Sparta Praha – Olympique Lyon

Sparta PrahaBye straight to Q3

vs

Olympique LyonBye straight to Q3

Winner plays the winner of Fenerbahçe – Sturm Graz

Already through to the Play-off Round (18 Aug), no Q3 tie

CelticPlays LASK in the Play-off Round

LASKPlays Celtic in the Play-off Round

AEK AthensPlays the winner of Kairat Almaty – Levski Sofia

Viking StavangerPlays the winner of Dinamo Zagreb – Kauno Žalgiris

Title-holders Get a Guaranteed Seat

If a title-holder misses out on the Champions League domestically, a vacancy opens in the league phase - filled by the best individual club coefficient in qualifying, reshaping the whole access list. Both title-holders above qualified for the league phase through their domestic performance anyway, so no such vacancy applies this season.

Snapshot as of 4 August 2026 - Rules: official UEFA Champions League regulations, 2024–27 cycle. Sourced from kassiesa.net's UEFA Coefficients Database and UEFA's own round-by-round draw announcements.