The league phase draw for the 2025/26 Champions League is now complete, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Tottenham determining their opponents for the first stage of Europe’s premier competition. This year’s edition will be the second since the competition was revamped, with 36 teams competing to prove they are the best in the continent.
Last season, Paris Saint-Germain surpassed Liverpool and Arsenal to reach the summit of Europe for the first time in club history, defeating Inter Milan by a record-breaking 5-0 margin at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. Meanwhile, giants like as Real Madrid and Manchester City will be hungry to improve on last season’s performance, having narrowly escaped the league phase only to be eliminated in the quarter-finals.
The top eight clubs from the league phase will move directly to the final 16. Teams finishing ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off round, with the winners advancing to the final 16. Teams finishing 25th or below will be eliminated outright and will not be relegated to the Europa League, putting additional pressure on the initial stage.
The opponents for Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Tottenham have been revealed.
The opening match of the league phase will take place between September 16 and 18, with five additional rounds of games scheduled for 2025. These will take place on September 30βOctober 1, October 21-22, November 4-5, November 25β26, and December 9β10. The final two league phase games will take place in January.
From there, the journey to Budapest, where they will compete in the final on May 30, 2026, officially begins. However, there was plenty of time to reflect and look forward to what was to come at the start of the initial draw, with Chelsea receiving a special award for becoming the first club to win all six UEFA competitions after winning the Europa Conference League and Club World Cup in just a few short months over the summer. See below:
The opening match of the league phase will take place between September 16 and 18, with five additional rounds of games scheduled for 2025. These will take place on September 30βOctober 1, October 21-22, November 4-5, November 25β26, and December 9β10. The final two league phase games will take place in January.
From there, the journey to Budapest, where they will compete in the final on May 30, 2026, officially begins. However, there was plenty of time to reflect and look forward to what was to come at the start of the initial draw, with Chelsea receiving a special award for becoming the first club to win all six UEFA competitions after winning the Europa Conference League and Club World Cup in just a few short months over the summer. See below:
After proven themselves to be dark horses in this year’s Champions League, Enzo Maresca and his team will be able to do it again after drawing Spanish champions Barcelona and German champions Bayern Munich in their first two ties, as well as Italian champions Napoli later in the league phase.
Both Manchester City and Liverpool will face familiar opponents Real Madrid, whom they have met several times in recent years, with the latter losing two finals to the Spanish giants under former manager Jurgen Klopp. Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to Anfield for the first time since quitting his boyhood club.
The Reds will also travel to the legendary San Siro to face last season’s finalists Inter Milan, while Hugo Ekitike will make his return to Eintracht Frankfurt. Arsenal, one of the largest teams to never win the Champions League, has been drawn against first-timers Kairat Almaty, as well as harder home games against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.
Newcastle are only in Europe’s top league for the second time, and while they are still battling the rigorous transfer market to locate a new striker, they may be concerned about upcoming clashes with Barcelona and PSG. Tottenham, who qualified courtesy to an unexpected Europa League victory under ousted manager Ange Postecoglou last season, will meet champions PSG, whom they previously lost to in the Super Cup final.
They will also return to the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt, whom they faced in the Europa League semi-finals last year. See each Premier League team’s opponents below:
Liverpool’s Champions League opponents include Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle, and Tottenham.
Premier League club.
Opponents
Liverpool
Real Madrid (H), Inter Milan (A), Atletico Madrid (H), Eintracht Frankfurt (A), PSV (H), Marseille (A), Qarabag (H), and Galatasaray
Arsenal
Bayern Munich (H), Inter Milan (A), Atletico Madrid (H), Club Brugge (A), Olympiacos (H), Slavia Praha (A), Kairat Almaty (H), and Athletic Club
Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund (H), Real Madrid (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), Villareal (A), Napoli (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H), and Monaco
Chelsea
Barcelona (H), Bayern Munich (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), and Qarabag
Newcastle
Barcelona (H), Paris Saint-Germain (A), Benfica (H), Bayer Leverkusen (A), PSV (H), Marseille (A), Union Saint-Gilloise (A), and Athletic Club
Tottenham
Borussia Dortmund (H), Paris Saint-Germain (A), Villareal (H), Eintracht Frankfurt (A), Slavia Prague (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Copenhagen (H), and Monaco (A)
Other Key Fixtures
See the full list of matches below:
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