Every 2025/26 Champions League Club’s League Phase Fixtures Ranked by Difficulty

The Champions League is back for another season. Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain will be attempting to maintain their title after a record-breaking 5-0 victory over Inter Milan, while Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Manchester City will be chasing the French giants.

Last season, UEFA made a number of modifications to the format of Europe’s premier competition: the number of competing teams was expanded from 32 to 36, the long-standing concept of group rounds was abandoned, and a league phase was created in its place.

The popularity of the competition’s redesigned style has meant that the new format has made its way into the 2025/26 season as planned, and the draw, which took place on Thursday afternoon, has supporters excited. But which sides have the simplest run-in? And which teams are nervous about their eight-game opening schedule?

Opta has utilized their Power Rankings, which rank 13,000 teams worldwide, to provide an objective average evaluation of each team’s first eight Champions League matches for the upcoming season, from easiest to most difficult.

The 18 easiest Champions League fixtures

Of all the teams competing, Pafos, who signed ex-Premier League defender David Luiz this summer, have the easiest run-in – their opponents’ average rating is 88.7, which is tied with Copenhagen.

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and Chelsea have all been awarded objectively easier starts to their respective 2025/26 campaigns at Europe’s top table, giving them something to be happy about.

Mikel Arteta’s side, who are one of the largest teams to have never won the Champions League, will face the most difficult of challenges as they attempt to advance to the competition’s final rounds. In fact, they have the third-easiest run among the 36 teams competing.

Although they host Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, they also welcome Kairat, who are rated 474th in the world by Opta’s Power Rankings, to the Emirates Stadium and travel to Qarabag in pursuit of three points.

Thomas Frank’s Spurs have a significantly more harder schedule, with visits to Paris Saint-Germain, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Monaco in their first eight games after winning the Europa League the previous season. Villarreal and Ajax come in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Liverpool and Chelsea are up next, with both teams salivating over their relatively uncomplicated – on paper – matchup. Liverpool will face Real Madrid, with Trent Alexander-Arnold returning to Anfield, and Inter Milan away from home.

Enzo Maresca’s men have an 89.9 difficulty rating, which is shared by Inter Milan, Juventus, and Olympiacos. Real Madrid, serial Champions League winners, will also have an objectively simple path to the competition’s knockout rounds in their debut season under Xabi Alonso’s leadership.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will welcome Los Blancos, Villarreal, Bodo/Glimt, and Monaco to England in search of continental success, while Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Monaco, and Bodo/Glimt complete the list of teams with the easier eight-game league phase schedule.

Champions League 2025/26: 18 Easiest Draws

Rank

Club

Pot 1

Pot 1

Pot 2

Pot 2

Pot 3

Pot 3

Pot 4

Pot 4

Average difficulty.

1.

Pafos

Chelsea (A

Bayern (H)

Juventus (A)

Villareal (H)

Olympiakos (A)

Slavia Prague (H

Kairat (A.)

Monaco (H)

88.7

2.

Copenhagen

Barcelona (A

Dortmund (H)

Bayer Leverkusen(H)

Villareal (A)

Naples (H)

Spurs (A).

Kairat (H.)

Qarabag (A).

88.7

3.

Arsenal

Bayern (H)

Inter Milan (A

Atlético (H)

Club Brugge (A.)

Olympiakos (H)

Slavia Prague (A

Athletics Club (A)

Kairat (H.)

88.8

4.

Tottenham Hotpsur

Dortmund (H)

PSG (A)

Frankfurt (A

Villareal (H)

Bodo/Glimt (A).

Slavia Prague (H

Copenhagen (H)

Monaco (A

89.1

5.

Villarreal

Dortmund (A)

Manchester City (H)

Bayer Leverkusen(A)

Juventus (H)

Ajax (H)

Spurs (A).

Copenhagen (H)

Paphos (A)

89.6

6.

Ajax

Chelsea (A

Inter Milan (H).

Benfica (H)

Villareal (A)

Marseille (A)

Olympiakos (H)

Galatasaray (H)

Qarabag (A).

89.8

7.

Liverpool

Inter Milan (A

Real Madrid (Home)

Atlético (H)

Frankfurt (A

Marseille (A)

PSV (H)

Galatasaray (A

Qarabag (H).

89.9

8.

Chelsea

Barcelona (H)

Bayern (A)

Atalanta (A

Benfica (H)

Ajax (H)

Naples (A)

Paphos (H)

Qarabag (A).

89.9

9.

Inter Milan

Dortmund (A)

Liverpool (H)

Arsenal (H)

Atlético (A).

Ajax (A

Slavia Prague (H

Kairat (H.)

Union SG(A)

89.9

10.

Juventus

Dortmund (H)

Real Madrid (A.)

Benfica (H)

Villareal (A)

Bodo/Glimt (A).

Sporting (H)

Monaco (A

Paphos (H)

89.9

11.

Olympiacos

Barcelona (A

Real Madrid (Home)

Arsenal (A)

Bayer Leverkusen(H)

Ajax (A

PSV (H)

Kairat (A.)

Paphos (H)

89.9

12.

Real Madrid

Liverpool (A

Manchester City (H)

Benfica (A

Juventus (H)

Marseille (H)

Olympiakos (A)

Kairat (A.)

Monaco (H)

90.0

13.

Sporting CP

Bayern (A)

PSG (H)

Club Brugge (H

Juventus (A)

Marseille (H)

Naples (A)

Athletics Club (A)

Kairat (H.)

90.0

14.

Manchester City

Dortmund (H)

Real Madrid (A.)

Bayer Leverkusen(H)

Villareal (A)

Bodo/Glimt (A).

Naples (H)

Galatasaray (H)

Monaco (A

90.2

15.

Borussia Dortmund

Inter Milan (H).

Manchester City (A)

Juventus (A)

Villareal (H)

Bodo/Glimt (H).

Spurs (A).

Athletics Club (H)

Copenhagen (A

90.5

16.

Napoli

Chelsea (H)

Manchester City (A)

Benfica (A

Frankfurt (H)

PSV (A)

Sporting (H)

Copenhagen (A

Qarabag (H).

90.5

17.

Monaco

Manchester City (H)

Real Madrid (A.)

Club Brugge (A.)

Juventus (H)

Bodo/Glimt (A).

Spurs (H)

Galatasaray (H)

Paphos (A)

90.6

18.

Bodo/Glimt

Dortmund (A)

Manchester City (H)

Atlético (A).

Juventus (H)

Slavia Prague (A

Spurs (H)

Galatasaray (A

Monaco (H)

90.7

The 18 toughest Champions League fixtures

Now we reach the topmost levels of difficulties, and you guessed it: Newcastle United is one of the unlucky teams fighting in Europe’s top-tier championship. The Magpies, who are scheduled to face Barcelona and PSG, are rated 32nd overall.

Benfica, for example, barely makes it into this list of 18 teams, with an average difficulty rating of 90.7. The Portuguese heavyweights will face Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Juventus. Galatasaray, led by Okan Buruk, has had a very easy run of games.

Club Brugge, like the aforementioned Turkish squad, is looking to make their imprint on European football with a rating of 90.8. Barcelona is one of the clear favourites to win the competition, facing Chelsea, PSG, and Olympiacos, to name a few.

Hansi Flick will be eager to add to his trophy cabinet this season, and the La Liga juggernauts will be tough to beat. None of Atalanta, Kairat, or Qarabag, who are ranked 23rd, 24th, and 25th, have to face the Spanish team.

Athletic Club, which competed in Europe’s second-tier competition last season, received a 91.0 rating; the Spaniards will face Dortmund, Atalanta, and Arsenal in their first eight games of the highly awaited event.

Eintracht Frankfurt will have to contend without the sharpshooting Hugo Ektike, who has joined Liverpool, whom they will face in the early stages of the campaign. Along with the Reds, they’ll face Barcelona and Galatasaray.

Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have similar fates, while Marseille and PSV Eindhoven face challenging fixtures between now and the competition’s latter rounds – assuming they advance, of course.

The reigning champions of the competition, PSG, have the second-hardest run of eight fixtures, according to Opta. Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are all among those that will be looking to cause an upset against Les Parisiens.

You just have to feel sorry for Bayern Munich, don’t you? Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal are among the teams that Vincent Kompany’s outfit are to face before the knockout rounds. Despite their tough run-in, you’d expect to see the Bavarians do very well.