|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Champions League returns for its second season in the revamped format, with six Premier League teams battling to be crowned Europe’s best in 2025/26.
The Champions League draw held on Thursday sees both Liverpool and Manchester City drawn against 15-time winners Real Madrid in a blockbuster league phase.
Xabi Alonso’s Madrid will host City at the Bernabéu and face Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield, two of the most anticipated fixtures of the campaign.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool, who topped the league phase last season before falling to PSG in the last 16, will also host Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag, while travelling to Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Galatasaray.
“To be able to welcome Real Madrid to Anfield again is something special,” Slot said, recalling last season’s 2-0 win over Los Blancos at Anfield.
City, winners of the 2023 Champions League, will host Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, and Galatasaray at the Etihad. They will also travel to Villarreal, Monaco, and debutants Bodo/Glimt. Kevin De Bruyne’s return to Manchester with Napoli adds further intrigue.
Elsewhere, holders PSG face daunting fixtures against Bayern, Barcelona, Tottenham, and Newcastle, as well as trips to Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao.
“Today we are the champions, but everybody wants to be the champions,” said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi after the draw in Monaco.
Arsenal, last season’s semi-finalists, must tackle Bayern, Atletico, Inter Milan, and Athletic Bilbao, while Chelsea welcome Barcelona and Bayern to Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle’s St James’ Park will host Barcelona, with Tottenham set to face Dortmund and Monaco after qualifying by winning the Europa League.
Debutants Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan will host Real Madrid and visit Arsenal, while minnows Pafos of Cyprus face Chelsea and Bayern.
The new Champions League format sees all 36 clubs play eight different opponents in one league table. The top eight progress directly to the last 16, teams in 9th–24th go into play-offs, while the bottom 12 are eliminated.
The first matchdays run from September 16–18, with the final round on January 28, 2026. The final will be held in Budapest on May 30, kicking off at 6:00 pm local time.
Champions League draw in full
Liverpool: Real Madrid (home), Inter Milan (away), Atletico Madrid (home), Eintracht Frankfurt (away), PSV Eindhoven (home), Marseille (away), Qarabag (home) and Galatasaray (away).
Manchester City: Borussia Dortmund (home), Real Madrid (away), Bayer Leverkusen (home), Villarreal (away), Napoli (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Galatasaray (home) and Monaco (away).
Chelsea: Barcelona (home), Bayern Munich (away), Benfica (home), Atalanta (away), Ajax (home), Napoli (away), Pafos (home) and Qarabag (away).
Arsenal: Bayern Munich (home), Inter Milan (away), Atletico Madrid (away), Club Brugge (home), Olympiacos (away), Slavia Prague (home), Kairat Almaty (away) and Athletic Bilbao (home).
Tottenham: Borussia Dortmund (home), Paris St-Germain (away), Villarreal (home), Eintracht Frankfurt (away), Slavia Prague (home), Bodo/Glimt (away) Copenhagen (home) and Monaco (away).
Newcastle: Barcelona (home), Paris St-Germain (away), Benfica (home), Bayer Leverkusen (away), PSV (home), Marseille (away), Athletic Bilbao (home) and Union SG (away).
