Champions League 2025-26: League Phase draw complete as all 36 teams learn their fate
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
English Premier League sides crack favourable draws
The UEFA Champions League 2025-26 is all set to enter the League Phase for its second edition, and the excitement is building as we now have a clearer picture of what’s in store following the conclusion of the draw in Monaco on August 29.
Teams and fans of England’s Premier League have plenty to be optimistic about this season, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea all cracking favourable draws for the upcoming season, according to Opta’s Power Rankings.
Based on the fixture difficulty rating (FDR), the Gunners have the easiest path of the English teams in the competition and the third-easiest overall, including favourable fixtures against he likes of Slavia Prague and newcomers Kairat. All of this season’s matches will be covered in our Champions League predictions.
Spurs are considered to have the next-best set of fixtures, followed by Liverpool, who have Qarabag and Galatasaray in their pot. Chelsea are next with both Pafos and Qarabag in their path, while Newcastle have the toughest set of fixtures among the English teams, including games against Barcelona, PSG and Bayer Leverkusen.
PSG face tough task to defend Champions League crown
The teams that have been handed the most challenging routes to Budapest based on FDR are the defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. There’s been significant market movement since the draw, and you can check them out via our Champions League odds comparator.
The Parisians and the Bavarians will meet each other this season, while they also have Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon to contend with. Additionally, the defending champions are set to cross paths with Barca, Leverkusen, Spurs and Newcastle this term.
As a final reminder, each team in this season’s Champions League will play eight matches in the League Phase (four home and four away). The first round of games are scheduled between September 16-18 and will be covered via our Champions League livescore tool.
UCL 2025-26 schedule:
- Matchday 1: September 16 - 18
- Matchday 2: September 30 - October 1
- Matchday 3: October 21- 22
- Matchday 4: November 4 - 5
- Matchday 5: November 25 - 26
- Matchday 6: December 9 - 10
- Matchday 7: January 20 - 21
- Matchday 8: January 28
