What We Learned from the 2025/26 Champions League Draw
by Sam Cox
The draw for the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League set up some mouthwatering fixtures. Even with the competition’s current format, the range of outcomes from the draw is huge, with some of Europe’s best teams facing challenging schedules.
Others got the rub of the green, avoiding long-distance away days and getting the more favorable opponents from each pot. The draw should have an impact on the Champions League picks made by bettors in futures markets.
Here are our key takeaways from the 2025/26 UCL schedule:
Convenient Reunions
Sure, the fixtures are supposedly random, but that ‘random’ system has produced a string of high-profile reunions, which are bound to whip up plenty of interest in the league phase of the competition.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Hugo Ekitiké are among the players facing their former clubs. Alexander-Arnold and Ekitiké are matching up with the teams they left earlier this year in high-profile deals.
Some will get warm welcomes, like De Bruyne returning to the Etihad Stadium on the first matchday. Mbappé doesn’t have to go back to Paris or Monaco, with Real hosting the latter on the penultimate matchday. He might have the opportunity to eliminate his former club.
The Kop will make their feelings towards Alexander-Arnold known once again. The travelling Dortmund faithful are unlikely to show much negativity towards Haaland.
Daunting Fixtures for Champions
PSG, European champions and runners-up in the Club World Cup, couldn’t have had a much more difficult draw. Their fixtures are:
- Atlanta (H)
- Barcelona (A)
- Bayer Leverkusen (A)
- Bayern Munich (H)
- Tottenham (H)
- Athletic Club (A)
- Sporting (A)
- Newcastle (H)
Luis Enrique’s side will be favored for several of those matches, but none of them are exactly easy. Getting off to a winning start against Atalanta is paramount before they go on the road to Barcelona and Leverkusen. Anything less than four points from their first three matches, and the pressure will be enormous when Bayern head to the French capital.
Their league schedule might lead to some tricky rotation decisions for Enrique, too. Les Parisiens are away to Lyon soon after hosting Bayern and away to Monaco after facing Spurs.
Potential for Upsets
The first year of the new Champions League format was awash with underdog stories.
Kairat Almaty hosting Real Madrid is the David-Goliath clash of the league phase in 2025/26, while Pafos and Bodø/Glimt will also be looking to stage an upset at two in the hope of sneaking into the playoff places.
Pafos welcome Bayern Munich to the 9,300-capacity Stelios Kyriakides Stadium at the end of September. They have away days against Juventus and Chelsea.
Winners of the Eliteserien in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024, Bodø/Glimt reached the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, knocking out Lazio, Twente, and Olympiacos in the process. They host Tottenham, Juventus, and Manchester City, and get to enjoy trips to Signal Iduna Park and the Metropolitano.
This is Kairat’s second appearance in the first round of a UEFA competition after falling at the group stage of last year’s Conference League. They defied all expectations to eliminate Slovan Bratislava and Celtic in the qualifying rounds.
Spurs Set for Top Eight Push
Aside from heading to Paris to face PSG, the draw went as well as possible for Spurs, considering they were in pot three. The Lilywhites saw off Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt during their Europa League run last season, so will be confident of winning against both teams in this year’s Champions League.
Home matches against Dortmund, Villarreal, Slavia Prague, and FC Copenhagen should lead to at least eight points. A trip to Monaco is winnable, but a draw would be a satisfactory result if they can take the maximum points from their first two matches.
Newcastle and Chelsea Face Challenging Schedules
Along with a home tie against Barcelona, Chelsea have away trips to Bayern Munich, Atalanta, and Napoli. An arduous journey to Qarabag won’t be much fun a few days after facing Spurs in the Premier League.
Newcastle’s schedule is packed with big names. They are hosting Barcelona, Benfica, Athletic, and PSV Eindhoven, with trips to Union St. Gilloise, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, and PSG. Wins against USG and PSV are vital if the Magpies are to secure a place in the next phase of the competition.
Conte’s Champions League Opportunity
Antonio Conte’s sides have traditionally disappointed in the Champions League. Despite boasting a superb league record, Conte has rarely met – let alone exceeded – expectations in Europe’s premier club competition.
They get their trickiest match out of the way early on when they head to the Etihad on matchday one. Their place in the round of 16 should be wrapped up by the time they host Chelsea on matchday eight.
Their harder fixtures are sandwiched between easier league matches, while clashes with Qarabag and Copenhagen – where Conte can freely rotate – come when the Serie A schedule features matches against Atalanta, Roma, and Juventus.
Must-Watch Fixtures
- September 17: Bayern Munich vs Chelsea
- September 18: Manchester City vs Napoli
- September 18: Newcastle vs Barcelona
- September 30: Kairat Almaty vs Real Madrid
- September 30: Pafos FC vs Bayern Munich
- October 1: Barcelona vs PSG
- October 21: Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid
- October 22: Real Madrid vs Juventus
- November 4: Liverpool vs Real Madrid
- November 5: Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund
- November 25: Chelsea vs Barcelona
- November 26: Arsenal vs Bayern Munich
- November 26: Atletico Madrid vs Inter
- December 9: Inter vs Liverpool
- December 10: Real Madrid vs Manchester City
- January 20: Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund
- January 20: Inter vs Arsenal
- January 28: PSG vs Newcastle
- January 28: Napoli vs Chelsea
- January 28: Borussia Dortmund vs Inter
