The field is nearly set for this season’s UEFA Champions League, Thursday’s league phase draw setting the stage for the road to the final on June 5 at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium.

Thursday’s draw will take place once the final round of qualification wraps up this week, which will see the last seven teams fill in the field of 36 that will take part in the league phase. No matter how things shake out, a healthy mix of usual suspects and newcomers will each have eight games to prove they belong in the knockout rounds – and are maybe worthy of making a deep run, no matter how likely or unlikely it may be.

A handful of favorites to win the whole thing, like back-to-back champions Paris Saint-Germain and last season’s finalists Arsenal, headline a group of teams that booked their spots in this season’s competition months ago. Fellow heavyweights like Bayern Munich and Barcelona also make up the group, while Manchester United are back after two seasons away and Italian side Como are amongst the most notable newcomers to the competition.

As the clock ticks down to Thursday’s draw, here’s what you need to know before tuning in.

How to watch the Champions League league phase draw

Date: Thursday, Aug. 27 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Grimaldi Forum — Monaco
TV/Live stream: CBS Sports Golazo Network

Playoff round schedule

All times U.S./Eastern; all matches to air on Paramount+

Tuesday, Aug. 25
Sabah 5, Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2 (Sabah advance on aggregate, 6-4)
Bodo/Glimt 3 NEC Nijmegen 0 (Bodo/Glimt advance on aggregate, 6-1)
LASK 5, Celtic 1 (LASK advance on aggregate, 5-4)

Wednesday, Aug. 26
AEK Athens 4, Levski Sofia 0 (AEK advance on aggregate, 4-0)
Fenerbahce 2, Lyon 1 (Fenerbahce advance on aggregate, 3-2)
Viking 3, Dinamo Zagreb 1 (Viking advance on aggregate, 5-3)
Slovan Bratislava 2, Celje 1 (Slovan Bratislava advance on aggregate, 2-1)

Champions League league phase participants

• England: Aston Villa, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool
• Italy: Inter, Napoli, Roma, Como
• Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis
• Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Stuttgart
• France: Paris Saint-Germain, Lens, Lille
• Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
• Portugal: Porto, Sporting Lisbon
• Belgium: Club Brugge
• Czechia: Slavia Praha
• Turkiye: Galatasaray, Fenerbahce
• Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
• Slovakia: Slovan Bratislava
• Norway: Viking FC, Bodo/Glimt
• Greece: AEK Athens
• Austria: LASK
• Azerbaijan: Sabah

How does the draw work?

The 36 teams will be divided into four pots based on their five-year UEFA club coefficient – pot 1 will have the highest-ranked teams, while pot 4 will have the lowest-ranked teams. The reigning Champions League holders are always placed in pot 1. The teams – whose names will be on little slips of paper inside a little ball – will be placed into different bowls on the stage based on those pots.

As each team gets picked out of their bowl, a button will be pressed to randomly assign their schedule for the league phase. Regardless of what pot they are placed in, though, each team will face two teams from every pot and play a total of four games at home and four games away.

Over the course of the league phase, the teams will be ranked against each other in a single table. The top eight teams at the end of the league phase will advance straight to the round of 16, while teams ranked nine through 24 will then play each other in the knockout phase playoffs before moving on to the last 16.

Pots

Pot 1

PSG (FRA)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Liverpool (ENG)
Inter (ITA)
Man City (ENG)
Arsenal (ENG)
Barcelona (ESP)
Atletico Madrid (ESP)

Pot 2

Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Roma (ITA)
Sporting CP (POR)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Porto (POR)
Man Utd (ENG)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Real Betis (ESP)
PSV (NED)

Pot 3

Feyenoord (NED)
Lille (FRA)
Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
Napoli (ITA)
Leipzig (GER)
Villarreal (ESP)
Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Shakhtar (UKR)
Galatasaray (TUR)

Pot 4

Slavia Praha (CZE)
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Stuttgart (GER)
AEK Athens (GRE)
LASK (AUT)
Como (ITA)
Lens (FRA)
Viking (NOR)
Sabah (AZE)

Champions League key dates

• Sept. 8 – 10: Matchday 1
• Oct. 13 – 14: Matchday 2
• Oct. 20 – 21: Matchday 3
• Nov. 3 – 4: Matchday 4
• Nov. 24 – 25: Matchday 5
• Dec. 8 – 9: Matchday 6
• Jan. 19 – 20: Matchday 7
• Jan. 27: Matchday 8
• Feb. 16 – 24: knockout phase playoffs
• March 9 – 17: round of 16
• April 6 – 14: quarterfinals
• April 27 – May 5: semifinals
• June 5: final at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid

File photo of Stan Wawrinka© AFP

CommBank Stadium will play host to Sunday’s
Round 26 NRL game between Parramatta Eels and
Cronulla Sharks. The game kicks off at 4:05 pm with Cronulla Sharks heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Parramatta Eels vs.
Cronulla Sharks
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Sunday August 30, 2026 at 4:05 pm

Where: CommBank Stadium

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Parramatta Eels vs Cronulla Sharks Odds

Parramatta Eels vs Cronulla Sharks Preview

Cronulla steadied its campaign by overturning a halftime deficit to defeat Gold Coast 30-22, while Parramatta was beaten 34-16 by the Dolphins. The Sharks still have significant finals incentive and bring a settled core built around Nicho Hynes, Blayke Brailey and Cameron McInnes. Parramatta retains Mitchell Moses alongside Ronald Volkman, with Dylan Walker joining a bench that will need to lift the tempo through the middle. The Eels have enough speed through Josh Addo-Carr and Brian Kelly to challenge Cronulla’s edge defence, particularly if their forwards win early field position. However, the Sharks’ combination of Addin Fonua-Blake’s power and the finishing of Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo gives them more dependable attacking routes. Cronulla should handle the pressure better and close the round with a valuable away win.

Britons Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel, Harry Wendelken and Harriet Dart stand one win away from a place in the US Open main draw after coming through their second round qualifying matches in New York.

Fearnley showed great resilience in battling to a three-set victory over Frenchman Luka Pavlovic, which set up a meeting with Austria’s Jurij Rodionov.

The 25-year-old world number 100 recovered from a break of serve down to take the opening set, and held his nerve in the decider after his opponent levelled the match to clinch a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 win.

Samuel, bidding to qualify for the US Open for the first time, produced a comeback victory against fellow Briton Billy Harris.

The 23-year-old, who made his slam debut at this year’s French Open, recovered to win 4-6 6-4 6-1 and set up a meeting with Chile’s former top-20 player Cristian Garin.

Wendelken, who has never contested the main draw at an overseas slam, saved a match point to come through a three-hour tussle with Switzerland’s Remy Bertola.

The 24-year-old, ranked 196th, appeared on the brink of elimination at a set and 5-2 down, but denied Bertola a match point to level at 5-5 before edging the second-set tie-break.

Wendelken took charge of the decider, establishing a 5-2 lead, but was forced to withstand a late fightback from his opponent before eventually clinching a 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win. He will face Lithuania’s Vilius Gaubas next.

Earlier in the day, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell explained that J.J. McCarthy was going to take the day off. Doing so is meant to ensure the kid can get back to full health prior to the Vikings’ final preseason game.

Truth be told, Minnesota’s intent as it relates to trading McCarthy is a mystery. Many boast strong opinions but very few (if any) know how this is going to play out. What’s also true, however, is that Minnesota is working through the trade playbook by refusing to firmly shutdown a lot of the chatter surrounding the third-year passer who has spent more time in the infirmary than the gridiron.

The Vikings May or May Not Trade J.J. McCarthy

To begin, the Vikings have done the single most important thing when it comes to moving on from McCarthy: finding an upside, enticing replacement.

Adding Kyler Murray means having a new starting quarterback. No longer is that mere speculation or best guesses. Rather, the reality is a certainty so long as health cooperates. Keep in mind that Murray is still only 29, meaning he’s got several years of football ahead of him. Seeing him form a connection with Justin Jefferson would mean that Murray is the man for both today and tomorrow.

The other part of the mix is that Minnesota is seemingly entertaining the possibility of elevating Carson Wentz into that QB2 job.

On Monday, FOX9’s Ahmad Hicks sent the following observation: “Here’s a little bit of J.J. McCarthy from practice today after he sustained an ankle injury in Saturday’s preseason game vs. the Ravens. He didn’t take all the second team reps, but he was on the field and in the mix.”

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert sent the following observation: “In a relatively brief Vikings practice (80 minutes) today, J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz split second-team reps.”

On Wednesday, Kevin O’Connell explained the following: “Just with J.J., we’re going to give him a rest day today just to see if we can kind of put the ankle behind him a little bit. He’s gotten some work, we kind of split the reps yesterday just to not overload him.”

Elsewhere in the same presser, O’Connell explained that Minnesota’s desire is to see McCarthy start the upcoming Broncos game.

If, in theory, Wentz plays noticeably and decisively better in practice and in the upcoming game, can the Vikings go back to McCarthy? Right now, the noise surrounding Minnesota’s situation has been loud. Can Minnesota keep working through all of the questions and speculation?

To my eye, McCarthy’s confidence has waned. He doesn’t lack for talent. Nor, for that matter, does he lack for a work ethic or resources. Despite that nice cocktail — normally, talent and a work ethic combines for good football — the Vikings haven’t seen the growth that everybody has desired.

Why is that the case? Confidence, perhaps.

Later in the same presser, O’Connell sidestepped a question about who was going to be the QB2 for the Week 1 Green Bay game. “I think to me,” O’Connell began, “it’s making an assessment on what we think is best for the team.” Roughly two years ago, O’Connell proclaimed McCarthy the franchise passer; at present, O’Connell won’t definitively commit to him as the QB2.

Seeing current on-field competence function as the sole criteria could reasonably involve Wentz being the top backup. In that scenario, the Vikings would be wise to move on.

J.J. McCarthy, 23, would likely demand a Day 3 pick(s) on the NFL’s trade market.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

UEFA is “likely” to withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA tournaments as the two conditions it was seeking from world football’s governing body following president Gianni Infantino’s failed attempt to sell off stakes in the World Cup have been met, a source told AFP on Wednesday. Infantino, 56, has come under increasing pressure to step down as president over his now-abandoned plan to secure private investment in FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup. UEFA, led by their president Aleksander Ceferin, had described the proposal in scathing terms, labelling it a “shady, opaque backroom deal”.

Despite Infantino withdrawing the plan only days after its launch, UEFA had said they were still not content and their threat to boycott FIFA events remained in place.

They said their demand that the plan be shelved had been met, but that they had not received assurances “that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again”.

However, with UEFA’s national associations meeting in Monaco on Thursday ahead of the draws for the Champions League and other club competitions, it appears that European football’s governing body is happy the second one has been settled satisfactorily.   

“Yes it is likely,” the source told AFP on Wednesday, regarding the possibility of dropping the boycott threat.

“I think the reassurance we sought has been received so it fulfils the second of the two criteria we set.”

A second source told AFP that the boycott threat — which had been seen as pivotal in forcing Infantino’s humiliating U-turn — had to be dealt with urgently given that the Under-20 Women’s World Cup is being held in Poland from September 5 to 27.

That is of particular importance given the potential for it to undermine UEFA’s united front in wanting Infantino to quit.

Infantino is seeking a fourth and final term when FIFA holds its presidential election in the Moroccan capital Rabat next March.

Previously, he was likely to be unopposed, but since the private financing scandal, a raft of member associations have withdrawn their support for him.

Italy became the latest to do so earlier on Wednesday.

The deadline for candidates to declare is November 18.

Ceferin has confirmed that he will not stand, while CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is regarded as the likeliest challenger.

“It is 10 days until the start of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup,” said the second source.

“It is complicated to maintain a unanimous position among the 55 (UEFA members) in these circumstances.

“In fact, there is a real risk of splitting the anti-Infantino bloc.”

A third source questioned whether the boycott threat was that effective. 

“The initial boycott threats were not sufficient to force Infantino to leave,” the third source said.

Of the upcoming tournament in Poland, the same source added: “It is not just about sparing the host country, but also because major European nations like France, England and Spain have already more or less confirmed they are taking part.”

Featured Video Of The Day

Spain’s World Cup Champions Celebrate Wildly At Cibeles Square

RJ Abarrientos (right) is more focused on running plays than scoring. —FIBA PHOTO

RJ Abarrientos has done enough to be part of the conversation on the PBA’s best clutch shooters today.

And even if he hasn’t shown his touch with Gilas Pilipinas yet, the star Ginebra guard isn’t fazed.

Abarrientos has settled into the role of a pure point guard, a facilitator for the national team that is set to open its bid in the 2027 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers against Jordan on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Of course, as a guard, I’m very excited to have these players [as teammates], to have players [as tall as] AJ (Edu) and June Mar (Fajardo),” he said. “As a guard, they are the biggest impact for the team.”

“As a guard … I need to focus on how we can execute as a team, in offense and defense. That’s my job, to make their job easier inside the court.”

Abarrientos picked passing over hunting down his shots in a heartbreaking 106-102 double overtime loss to New Zealand in the previous qualifying window, finishing with 10 assists that helped four players finish in double figures.

With Kai Sotto back in the fold, Abarrientos sees his playmaking duties get a tad easier.

“The most crucial [thing] for me as a guard is to be vocal for them also and give the right help for the bigs,” said the Best Player of the Conference awardee. “There were a lot of failures in our practices, but we know that we can fix it. I’m very thankful that I have teammates, legends and veterans here in Gilas who can also support me in my career in PBA.”

“I’m very happy that I’m here and I can help them.”

Abarrientos and his teammates have their work cut out for them in this window, where they will also face Iran.

The Philippines finished 2-4 in the previous windows and sit outside the top four teams that will advance. Gilas Pilipinas is seeking no less than a sweep to grease their path, beginning with the 8:30 p.m. duel against the Jordanians.

Premier League clubs Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all feature in pot one alongside back-to-back Champions League winners Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Aston Villa and Manchester United both return to the Champions League this season after not featuring last term. They are in pot two with Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.

Pot three consists of Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

Slavia Prague, VfB Stuttgart, Lask, Como, Lens, Sabah, AEK Athens, Slovan Bratislava and Viking make up pot four.

Venus Williams (L) and Serena Williams© AFP