The draw for the main stage of the 2026/27 Champions League took place at UEFA headquarters. Azerbaijan's Sabah, whose goal is guarded by Kazakhstani Stanislav Pokatilov, will make their debut in the tournament against Spain's Barcelona and Villarreal, England's Arsenal and Manchester United, Germany's Borussia Dortmund, Italy's Napoli, Czech Republic's Slavia Prague, and Norway's Viking, reports infohub.kz.
Sabah will host Barcelona, Borussia, Napoli, and Slavia in Baku. The remaining clubs will be played away.
29 teams qualified automatically for the league phase. The other seven participants were determined through qualifying.
On their way to the main tournament, the team led by Lithuanian specialist Valdas Dambrauskas, like Kairat last year, overcame four qualifying rounds. At the start, the Azerbaijani champions defeated Welsh side TNS twice – 2:0, 2:1. In the second round, they beat Finnish KuPS – 1:0, 2:0. Then Danish side Aarhus was overcome – 1:2, 4:0. In the play-offs, Sabah defeated Israeli club Hapoel Be'er Sheva – 1:2, 5:2. In the last game, Pokatilov made two costly errors, but that did not prevent his team from winning big in extra time.
Interestingly, 33-year-old Kazakhstani goalkeeper Stanislav Pokatilov, the main guardian of the Baku side's goal, has the opportunity to play in the main tournament of a third European competition. In 2013, the then 21-year-old goalkeeper played for Karaganda's Shakhter in the Europa League group stage, and in 2021 – for Kairat in the Conference League. The Champions League will add to the collection of the native of Uralsk, who has 30 caps for the Kazakhstan national team.
According to the regulations of the 2026/27 Champions League, each of the 36 teams will play 8 matches in the league phase against different opponents. The top eight clubs will advance directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing 9th to 24th will participate in play-off matches for the right to play in the round of 16. Then the knockout stage. The final of the 2026/27 Champions League will be held at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on June 5 next year.
The exact schedule of the league phase matches will be announced later. For now, the dates are known:
⚽ Round 1. September 8-10
⚽ Round 2. October 13-14
⚽ Round 3. October 20-21
⚽ Round 4. November 3-4
⚽ Round 5. November 24-25
⚽ Round 6. December 8-9
⚽ Round 7. January 19-20
⚽ Round 8. January 27
Kazakhstan champion Kairat performed poorly in the qualification for this Champions League. From there they dropped into the Europa League qualifying. And, in the end, they will likely end up in the Conference League. The return match against Anderlecht will take place late tonight. The first match in Almaty was lost 0:3.
The draws for the main tournaments of the Europa League and Conference League will take place tomorrow.