The Champions League returns for its second season in the newly adopted format and in 2025-26, the Premier League will have six teams looking to become the best side in Europe.
Champions Liverpool are looking to claim a historic seventh Champions League crown and will take on old foes Real Madrid as well as Inter Milan.
Meanwhile, Arsenal will host Bayern Munich again and also travel to San Siro, and Tottenham take on PSG in a rematch of August’s Super Cup.
Manchester City are participating in their 15th consecutive campaign in Europe’s elite competition and will face Borussia Dortmund, with Real Madrid also lying in wait for Pep Guardiola’s side.
They are joined by World champions Chelsea, who must travel to Antonio Conte’s Napoli, as well as Bayern Munich.
The other heavy hitters are involved, including Spanish giants Barcelona, who face Chelsea and PSG.
Real Madrid must overcome both Liverpool and City, and Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich have some tough tests against Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal.
You can find the full draw below, as well as information on when the new Champions League campaign kicks off this season.
How does the Champions League draw work?
The 36 clubs participating in the competition are made up of:
- 27 sides who qualified through their domestic league positions
- The holders of the Champions League and Europa League
- Seven teams that advanced via qualifying rounds
Clubs are seeded into four pots, determined by UEFA’s club coefficient rankings. Starting with Pot 1, teams are drawn individually, and each will be allocated eight opponents by UEFA’s automated software.
Every team will play eight fixtures in total: two opponents from each pot, one at home and one away.
Clubs cannot face opponents from their own country, and no team can be drawn to play more than two clubs from the same nation (e.g. two Italian teams).
This process continues until the full fixture schedule for all 36 clubs is confirmed.
What are this season’s pots?
| POT 1: PSG Real Madrid Manchester City Bayern Munich Liverpool Inter Milan Chelsea BVB Barcelona |
POT 2 Arsenal Bayer Leverkusen Atlético Madrid Benfica Atalanta Villarreal Juventus Frankfurt Club Brugge |
POT 3 Tottenham PSV Eindhoven Ajax Napoli Sporting CP Olympiacos Slavia Prague Bodo/Glimt Marseille |
POT 4 F.C. Kobenhavn AS Monaco Galatasaray Union St.-Gilloise FK Qarabag Athletic Club Newcastle United Pafos Kairat Almaty |
Arsenal’s Champions League opponents
- Bayern Munich (H)
- Inter Milan (A)
- Atletico Madrid (H)
- Club Brugge (A)
- Olympiacos (H)
- Slavia Prague (A)
- Kairat Almaty (H)
- Athletic Club (A)
Chelsea’s Champions League opponents
- Barcelona (H)
- Bayern Munich (A)
- Benfica (H)
- Atalanta (A)
- Ajax (H)
- Napoli (A)
- Pafos (H)
- Qarabag (A)
Liverpool’s Champions League opponents
- Real Madrid (H)
- Inter Milan (A)
- Atletico Madrid (H)
- Eintracht Frankfurt (A)
- PSV (H)
- Marseille (A)
- Qarabag (H)
- Galatasaray (A)
Manchester City’s Champions League opponents
- Borussia Dortmund (H)
- Real Madrid (A)
- Bayer Leverkusen (H)
- Villarreal (A)
- Napoli (H)
- Bodo/Glimt (A)
- Galatasaray (H)
- Monaco (A)
Newcastle’s Champions League opponents
- Barcelona (H)
- PSG (A)
- Benfica (H)
- Bayer Leverkusen (A)
- PSV (H)
- Marseille (A)
- Athletic Club (H)
- Union St. Gilloise (A)
Tottenham’s Champions League opponents
- Borussia Dortmund (H)
- PSG (A)
- Villarreal (H)
- Frankfurt (A)
- Slavia Prague (H)
- Bodo/Glimt (A)
- Copenhagen (H)
- Monaco (A)
Real Madrid’s Champions League opponents
- Manchester City (H)
- Liverpool (A)
- Juventus (H)
- Benfica (A)
- Marseille (H)
- Olympiacos (A)
- Monaco (H)
- Kairat Almaty (A)
Barcelona’s Champions League opponents
- PSG (H)
- Chelsea (A)
- Eintracht Frankfurt (H)
- Club Brugge (A)
- Olympiacos (H)
- Slavia Prague (A)
- Copenhagen (H)
- Newcastle (A)
Bayern Munich’s Champions League opponents
- Chelsea (H)
- Paris Saint-Germain (A)
- Club Brugge (H)
- Arsenal (A)
- Sporting CP (H)
- PSV (A)
- Union St. Gilloise (H)
- Pafos (A)
PSG’s Champions League opponents
- Bayern Munich (H)
- Barcelona (A)
- Atalanta (H)
- Bayer Leverkusen (A)
- Tottenham (H)
- Sporting CP (A)
- Newcastle (H)
- Athletic Club (A)
When does the new Champions League campaign begin?
UEFA has outlined the full schedule for this season’s Champions League league phase, including kick-off slots and matchdays under the expanded calendar.
The full schedule will be released on Saturday, August 30 to determine who will play who and in what order.
Kick-Off Times
- On each matchday, two fixtures will begin at 17:45, with the remaining games kicking off at 20:00.
- On the final round of fixtures, all 18 matches will be played simultaneously at 20:00.
Champions League Matchdays
- Matchday 1: Sep 16-18
- Matchday 2: Sep 30-Oct 1
- Matchday 3: Oct 21-22
- Matchday 4: Nov 4-5
- Matchday 5: Nov 25-26
- Matchday 6: Dec 9-10
- Matchday 7: Jan 20-21
- Matchday 8: Jan 28
Key Changes Under the New Format
The league phase now concludes in January, rather than finishing before Christmas.
Six fixtures will be played before the winter break, with the final two rounds scheduled for Jan 20-21 and Jan 28.
Where is the Champions League final in 2026?
This season’s Champions League final will take place on Saturday, 30 May 2026 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
