Liverpool and Manchester City have both been drawn to face Real Madrid in this season’s Champions League, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were handed a daunting run of fixtures that includes clashes with Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
In Thursday’s draw, Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid were paired with Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu and will also travel to Anfield to meet Liverpool, setting up two of the most anticipated fixtures in the league phase.
Liverpool, under new manager Arne Slot, will also host Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan, while making away trips to Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Turkish champions Galatasaray.
City, who lifted the Champions League trophy in 2023, will play home games against Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, and Galatasaray, while also traveling to face Real Madrid, Villarreal, Monaco, and Norwegian debutants Bodo/Glimt.
Meanwhile, PSG—winners of last season’s edition—must navigate a challenging list that sees them host Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur, and Atalanta, while going away to Barcelona, Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, Athletic Bilbao, and Newcastle United.
The revamped Champions League format, introduced last season, pools all 36 clubs into a single league table instead of traditional groups. Each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents. The top eight progress directly to the round of 16, clubs finishing 9th–24th go into the knockout play-offs, while the bottom 12 are eliminated.
Elsewhere, Barcelona will travel to face Chelsea and Newcastle, while Arsenal will host Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, in addition to away trips to Inter Milan and Athletic Bilbao. Tournament newcomers Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, who shocked Celtic in the play-off round, will host Real Madrid and visit Arsenal, while Cypriot underdogs Pafos will meet Chelsea away and welcome Bayern at home.
The opening fixtures are scheduled for September 16–18, with the final matchday on January 28. This season’s final will be staged in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, 2026, kicking off at 6:00 pm local time—a departure from the traditional 9:00 pm start.
