Liverpool and Manchester City will face Real Madrid in this season’s Champions League, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain have a challenging set of opponents following Thursday’s draw, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid, coached by Xabi Alonso, will play City at home and then face Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield in two notable matches in the league phase.
Liverpool, managed by Arne Slot and who topped the league phase last season but were knocked out by PSG in the round of 16, will also host Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag from Azerbaijan.
Additionally, they will visit Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Turkish league champions Galatasaray.
Manchester City, who won the Champions League in 2023, will host Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Italian champions Napoli, and Galatasaray at the Etihad Stadium. Along with Real Madrid, they will travel to Villarreal, Monaco, and Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glimt.
PSG will play host to Bayern Munich and travel to Barcelona, while they also have home games against Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
Coached by Luis Enrique, PSG won the Champions League last season but faced challenges during the league phase, finishing in 15th place.
Their schedule this season is equally demanding, as they will also meet Atalanta at home and face Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao away. In the new format of Europe’s elite club competition, each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents. All 36 clubs will be combined into one league instead of being divided into groups.
The top eight teams will advance to the round of 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th will participate in knockout round play-offs. The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated.
Notable fixtures include Barcelona visiting both Chelsea and Newcastle, while Arsenal will host Bayern and Atletico and must also travel to Inter Milan and Bilbao.
Tournament newcomers Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan, who eliminated Celtic on penalties in the play-off round, will host Real Madrid and visit Arsenal in London. The Cypriot club Pafos will travel to Chelsea and face Bayern at home.
UEFA is not expected to announce specific fixture dates until at least Friday, but the first round of matches will occur over three days from September 16 to 18. The eighth and final matchday is set for January 28.
This season’s Champions League final is scheduled to be held in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30 next year, with UEFA confirming that the kick-off will be at 6:00 pm local time instead of the traditional 9:00 pm.
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