Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will meet Spanish title holders Barcelona in one of the standout fixtures of the newly drawn 2025-26 uefa champions league league stage. The draw, confirmed on 28 August 2025, produced a host of heavyweight clashes across Europe.
Real Madrid, 15-time winners, will once again lock horns with Manchester City – a fixture that has become one of the most frequent in recent Champions League history. The two sides will also face each other at the Santiago Bernabéu in the opening round. Madrid are also scheduled to take on Liverpool at Anfield in what promises to be another classic European tie.
Chelsea, crowned world champions last season, face a daunting run of fixtures with trips to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and Barcelona at the Camp Nou. PSG, meanwhile, will not only travel to Catalonia but also host Bayern Munich at the Parc des Princes in another marquee encounter.
Bayern are also set for a familiar showdown with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The German champions and the Gunners have met 14 times before – more than either club has faced any other side in European competition. Their last clash came in the 2023-24 quarter-finals, adding more history to this long-standing rivalry.
This season’s tournament is the first under UEFA’s new ‘Swiss-model’ format, which replaces the traditional group stage. Thirty-six teams have been divided into nine pots of two sides each, based on their coefficient rankings. Every team will face opponents from each pot twice – once at home, once away – for a total of eight matches (four home, four away).
The schedule of fixtures, including exact dates and kick-off times, will be confirmed by UEFA on 30 August.