A draw, which may be conducted digitally, determines the pairings for the league phase. The 36 clubs are divided into four pots of nine clubs. The pots are composed according to the club coefficient rankings established at the beginning of the season (see Annex D) and with the UEFA Champions League titleholder being the top seed in pot 1.
The opponents of each team, as well as whether each match is played at home or away, are determined by means of a draw. Each team is drawn against two opponents from each of the four pots and plays one opponent from each pot at home, and the other away. In principle, teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other and each team may play against a maximum of two opponents from any other one association, subject to Paragraph 16.03.
The UEFA administration may determine alternative conditions for the draw in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee and may adapt any of the conditions of the draw to avoid deadlock situations and/or take into account any relevant constraints in light of decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee.