pots

THE best teams in Europe are set to go head-to-head once again as the Champions League returns for another thrilling season.

PSG are the current kings of the continent after thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the Munich final last term.

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The French giants are among the favourites for the trophy once again, as are Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Six Premier League teams have earned the right to mix it with the big boys in the Champions League this season.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Europa League winners Tottenham will all be in the draw for the league phase.

The Gunners went the furthest of the English sides competing in Europe’s elite club competition last term.

Mikel Arteta‘s men reached the semi-finals, losing 3-1 on aggregate to eventual winners PSG.

English sides will be looking to stop the rot after failing to make an appearance in the Champions League final in back-to-back seasons.

First up is the league phase, and SunSport brings you the all-important details ahead of the draw.

When is the Champions League draw?

• The draw for the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League will take place on Thursday, August 28.
• The show will begin at 5pm BST.
• Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum will stage the draw.

How to watch the Champions League draw FREE

• The Champions League draw will be broadcast live on Uefa.com.
• TNT Sports 1 will also air the draw on regular TV.
• The broadcaster will also provide a FREE live stream via the TNT Sports YouTube channel.
• Alternatively, you can discover all the confirmed ties by following SunSport’s live blog of the draw.

How does the Champions League league phase draw work?

Like last year, the league phase has 36 teams from across Europe competing, with each side handed eight games.

The 36 clubs are split into four pots based on their Uefa coefficient, with the opponents generated by automated software.

Starting with Pot 1, one physical ball will be drawn before the automated software randomly draws two opponents from each pot, one home and one away.

Teams cannot face more than two opponents from the same country and are not permitted to face other sides from the same association as theirs.

The top eight teams in the final table will automatically go through to the last 16.

They will then be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides who were placed ninth to 24th in the table.

Champions League draw pots

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona

Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge

LABOUR’S hefty employer National Insurance hike is coming in days – we explain what it means for you.

From April 6, businesses will have to pay a higher rate of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) of 15% from 13.8%.

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The threshold at which they are paid is also being lowered from £9,100 to £5,000.

The Government confirmed it was making the changes in its Autumn Budget last October in a bid to increase revenue.

It also said the move meant it wasn’t increasing taxes for working people.

However, it will have an impact on shoppers and everyday consumers as businesses look to pass on the additional costs.

Here is how you could be affected.

Store prices

A host of retailers and chains have warned they will have to hike prices on goods to cover the cost of the increase in NICs.

In a recent survey of chief financial officers at 52 leading retailers carried out by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), two thirds said they will have to raise prices.

The BRC, which represents UK retailers, also said it expects to see food prices rise by 4.2% later this year due to the NIC increase.

In January, boss of M&S Stuart Machin said the retailer wanted to pass costs on “as little as possible” but had been forced to tweak its business plan for the coming years.

He added any price rises would be “small and behind the market” but did not say how much exactly they would go up by.

Next has also said it will need to push through an “unwelcome” 1% rise in prices and launch self-service tills to drive down staffing costs.

Halfords has warned it may be forced to push up prices too, as well as Asda, Primark and Sainsbury’s.

Price of a pint

A number of pub bosses have cautioned of price rises as they brace for the rise in NICs.

It comes as the hospitality sector also faces temporary business rate relief being reduced from 75% to 40% this month.

Boss of Wetherspoons Tim Martin last month warned of price rises as it faces £60million in extra costs due to rising NICs and wages.

All Bar One owner Mitchells and Butlers (M&B) has said the price of a pint would rise by up to 15p.

Chief executive of Fullers, Simon Emeny, also exclusively told The Sun the price of beers at its hotels and boozers would likely rise by 10p.

Marston’s has already increased the price of draught beer across its pub estate with drinkers facing an extra 10p more a pint at the bar.

Store closures

Thousands of shops have already closed across the UK in the last 12 months, but more could be coming due to the employer NIC rise.

The Centre for Retail Research said more than 13,000 high street stores were shuttered for good in 2024.

But it said this figure will rise to about 17,350 in 2025 due to the hike to NICs and the rising national minimum wage.

Fashion retailer New Look has said it could close almost 100 shops following the Government’s tax raid.

Small shoe chain A. G. Meek is closing one of its stores this month with its boss saying it was due to the NIC hike, a reduction in business rate relief and lower footfall.

Historic department store Beales, in Bournemouth, is also ceasing trading in May with boss Tony Brown telling The Telegraph the business had become “unviable” due to the extra costs associated with the Government’s Autumn Budget.

Pension pots, wages and jobs

Economists have warned the employer NIC hike will ultimately be felt by workers in the shape of reduced wage rises.

Not only will the reduced salary rises impact employees in the immediate term, but in the long term as well.

This is because it will see workers with less money to add to their pension pots.

It might also discourage employers from raising how much they contribute to their employees’ workplace pensions in the future.

Businesses may also end up laying off staff or taking less workers on in a bid to shore up their finances.

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