The draw is complete, but we will have to wait until Saturday to know the precise schedule. The dates and order of the matches are still to be determined. Even so, the essentials are already known: the first big fixtures of the 2026-2027 Champions League are set.
And there are many of them.
This new league phase is starting with a bang. PSG, the title holders, will face FC Barcelona and Manchester City again. Real Madrid will cross paths with Inter Milan and Arsenal, while the Gunners will also have Bayern Munich on their schedule. Liverpool, meanwhile, will have to take on Atlético Madrid and Inter.
This promises several European nights that could easily have belonged to the knockout stage.
PSG-Barça, the first clash that jumps out
The duel between Paris and Barcelona will obviously be one of the most anticipated fixtures.
PSG will meet an opponent they know well on the European stage, but in a completely different context. Paris enters this new campaign with the status of European champions and will quickly need to confirm they still belong to the very exclusive circle of favourites.
Barça will also have another major fixture, against Manchester City.
And that is the whole peculiarity of this draw: the big teams will not just face a heavyweight once. Some will have to face several.
Manchester City at the heart of the draw
City are precisely at the centre of several of the most interesting fixtures.
The English club will face PSG and Barcelona, two of the teams aiming to play leading roles this season.
Added to that are Sporting CP, Porto, Napoli, Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens.
For the Citizens, this league phase will therefore immediately serve as a test. Two clashes against title contenders will quickly show where the team stands in the European hierarchy.
Real Madrid-Arsenal: a fixture already worth savouring
Another major clash: Real Madrid-Arsenal.
The Madrid club will also have Inter Milan on their path, while Arsenal will additionally have to face Bayern Munich.
The Gunners will therefore have a particularly demanding schedule with two European heavyweights. The trip to Real Madrid will notably be one of the matches to circle in red on the calendar once it is revealed.
Real Madrid, for their part, will have to manage a campaign that also includes PSV, Roma, Leipzig, Shakhtar, LASK and AEK Athens.
Arsenal-Bayern, the other huge fixture
While Arsenal-Real Madrid naturally attracts attention, Arsenal-Bayern Munich is not far behind.
Two teams with major European ambitions will therefore meet as early as this first phase.
And Bayern will not stop there: Atlético Madrid also feature on their path. The Bavarians will therefore need to quickly get into the rhythm of a competition where mistakes could prove costly in the standings.
Liverpool-Atlético and Liverpool-Inter: also very heavyweight
Liverpool have not been forgotten by the draw.
The Reds will face Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan, two sides renowned for their experience and their ability to make their mark on the big European occasions.
These are two very different fixtures, but both are real tests for Liverpool.
Inter, for their part, will also have to face Real Madrid. The Italian club therefore also finds itself at the heart of a particularly tough schedule.
And behind the giants, very different paths
The new format also allows clubs less accustomed to being in the spotlight to enjoy exceptional nights.
- Lens will face Manchester City and Liverpool, but also Inter Milan and Dortmund.
- Lille will have two prestigious fixtures, against Bayern Munich and Arsenal.
- Galatasaray will meet PSG and Barcelona again.
- Como 1907 will experience a particularly spectacular first phase, with Paris, Barcelona and Manchester United on the schedule.
And what about Sabah? The Azerbaijani club will notably face Barcelona, Arsenal, Dortmund and Manchester United. A particularly brutal entry into the big leagues for a team founded just nine years ago.
A Champions League that is already off to a very strong start
We will still have to wait to find out when these fixtures will take place. But the draw has already laid the foundations for a particularly spectacular league phase.
- PSG-Barcelona
- PSG-Manchester City
- Real Madrid-Arsenal
- Real Madrid-Inter
- Arsenal-Bayern
- Liverpool-Atlético
- Liverpool-Inter
- Bayern-Atlético
And behind these glamour fixtures, several clubs such as Lens, Lille, Galatasaray or Como will also have the chance to take on the European giants.
The schedule will be revealed on Saturday. That is when the draw will truly take shape: we will then know which fixtures will open the competition and which will come into play as the league phase heads into its final matchdays.
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