The draw for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League has been completed, with the 36 participating clubs discovering the eight opponents they will face in the opening stage of the competition.
Among the standout fixtures, Real Madrid have been drawn against Arsenal, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Manchester City.
Under UEFA’s league-phase format, each of the 36 clubs will play eight matches against eight different opponents, with four games at home and four away.
The teams were divided into four pots based on UEFA coefficient rankings, with each club facing two opponents from each pot. Clubs cannot face teams from their own country during the league phase and are limited to a maximum of two opponents from any other country.
The draw also featured UEFA’s restriction on repeat home fixtures, which prevents a club from hosting an opponent it had hosted in either of the previous two league-phase seasons.
Real Madrid have been handed a challenging schedule as they begin their latest quest for the Champions League title.
The Spanish giants will host Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig and LASK at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side will travel to face Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and AEK Athens.
The meeting between Real Madrid and Arsenal is expected to be one of the biggest fixtures of the league phase.
Manchester City will also face a difficult list of opponents.
Pep Guardiola’s side will host defending champions PSG, Sporting, Napoli and AEK Athens.
Their away fixtures will see them travel to Barcelona, Porto, RB Leipzig and Lens.
The clash between City and PSG will be among the headline encounters of the opening phase.
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Arsenal will host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille and Sabah.
The Gunners will face difficult away trips to Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague.
Mikel Arteta’s side will therefore face several European heavyweights as they attempt to progress from the league phase.
Full fixtures for selected clubs
Inter Milan: Liverpool (H), Real Madrid (A), Club Brugge (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Shakhtar Donetsk (H), Feyenoord (A), Stuttgart (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).
Barcelona: Manchester City (H), PSG (A), Aston Villa (H), Sporting (A), Feyenoord (H), Galatasaray (A), Como (H), Sabah (A).
Atletico Madrid: Bayern Munich (H), Liverpool (A), Manchester United (H), PSV Eindhoven (A), Fenerbahce (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Viking (H), Stuttgart (A).
PSG: Barcelona (H), Manchester City (A), Roma (H), Aston Villa (A), Galatasaray (H), Villarreal (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Como (A).
Liverpool: Atletico Madrid (H), Inter Milan (A), Porto (H), Club Brugge (A), Villarreal (H), Fenerbahce (A), Lens (H), LASK (A).
Club Brugge: Liverpool (H), Inter Milan (A), Aston Villa (H), PSV Eindhoven (A), Bodo/Glimt (H), Napoli (A), Lens (H), Stuttgart (A).
Borussia Dortmund: Inter Milan (H), Arsenal (A), Real Betis (H), Aston Villa (A), Villarreal (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), AEK Athens (H), Sabah (A).
Porto: Manchester City (H), Liverpool (A), PSV Eindhoven (H), Real Betis (A), Napoli (H), Feyenoord (A), Slavia Prague (H), LASK (A).
Aston Villa: PSG (H), Barcelona (A), Borussia Dortmund (H), Club Brugge (A), Fenerbahce (H), Galatasaray (A), Viking (H), Slavia Prague (A).
Real Betis: Arsenal (H), Bayern Munich (A), Porto (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Feyenoord (H), Lille (A), Como (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).
The league phase replaces the traditional Champions League group stage, with all 36 teams competing in a single league table.
The new format is expected to produce several high-profile fixtures before the competition moves into the knockout rounds.