The latest Newcastle United news as the Magpies prepare to learn their fate for a return to the Champions League.
The iconic Champions League trophy.
The iconic Champions League trophy.
Newcastle United ended last season with the Carabao Cup crown and secured a return to the Champions League finishing the campaign in fifth place. It's been a testing summer transfer window and although the Magpies are yet to win in the Premier League so far this season, there's still plenty of excitement about the campaign ahead.
Eddie Howe's squad know they'll have to be pretty active in the final few days of the summer transfer window if they want to be competitive in this year's instalment of the Champions League. The competition has undergone a complete revamp since the Magpies were last involved back in 2023/24.
When is the draw, how does it work and when will Newcastle find out their opponents? Chronicle Live has all the information ahead of the draw this week;
When is the Champions League draw?
The draw for the league phase of the competition will be held in Monaco on Thursday, 28 August and begins at 6pm BST.
How can you watch the Champions League draw?
The draw will be broadcast via UEFA and TNT Sports - who will both offer free live streaming on their respective websites and YouTube channels.
So, how does the league phase draw work?
As previously mentioned, the tournament has had a complete revamp in the early stage of the competition. The league phase, which compromises of 36 teams, will see Newcastle play eight games.
Similarly to the previous instalment of the competition, those 36 teams are split into four pots of eight teams depending on their UEFA coefficient. Although they qualified for the 2023/24 competition, Newcastle will find themselves in pot 4.
The draw is conducted by automated software and the opponents are then chosen from each pot. Two teams are selected from each, with one at home and one away.
At this stage of the tournament, Newcastle are not able to play a team from the same country, ruling out Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham, while they're also not eligible to play more than two teams from one country.
If the Magpies finish inside the top eight after the final game of the league phase, they'll then automatically qualify for the last 16. If the Toon finish in the next 16 places, they'll take part in a play-off game and if they win, they'll reach the last 16.
The UEFA Champions League logo on the pitch at St James' Park.
The UEFA Champions League logo on the pitch at St James' Park.
Which teams have qualified for the Champions League 2025/26 league phase?
Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt
Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Marseille
Pot 4: Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Bilbao, Newcastle United
Pot TBC:
Tottenham
AS Monaco
Ferencvaros / Qarabag
Red Star Belgrade / Pafos
Bodo/Glimt / Sturm Graz
Celtic / Kairat
Basel / Copenhagen
Fenerbahce / Benfica
Rangers / Club Brugge
What dates are the Champions League 2025/26 matchdays?
Matchday 1: 16-18 September 2025
Matchday 2: 30 September-1 October 2025
Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025
Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025
Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025
Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025
Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026
Matchday 8: 28 January 2026
Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026
Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)