The Champions League draw for the 2026-27 UEFA competition is complete, giving 36 clubs a clear picture of their opponents in the opening league phase.
Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will meet Manchester City, while Real Madrid face Arsenal in one of the biggest ties. The draw has created several difficult schedules for Europe’s leading clubs as they begin their campaigns.
Real Madrid will welcome Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven, while their away matches include Arsenal, Roma, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, LASK and AEK Athens. The Spanish giants face a demanding route as they look to reclaim the trophy.
Manchester City will host PSG, Sporting Club, Napoli and AEK Athens. They will travel to Barcelona, Porto, RB Leipzig and Lens. Pep Guardiola’s team therefore face a challenging set of fixtures against several well-established European sides.
UEFA placed the 36 clubs into four pots according to their club coefficient rankings before conducting the draw. Each team will play eight matches against eight different opponents. Every club will meet two opponents from each pot, with one home and one away fixture against teams from each pot.
The league phase has replaced the traditional group stage. Instead of being placed into smaller groups, every club now plays eight different opponents during the opening stage.
UEFA also applied rules designed to prevent certain domestic match-ups. English clubs cannot meet one another during the league phase, while no club can face a team from its own country. Each side can also draw a maximum of two opponents from any other country.
A further restriction applies to repeat home fixtures. Clubs cannot host an opponent that they welcomed during either of the previous two league-phase seasons. This rule stopped possible home meetings between Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as Inter Milan and Arsenal.
PSG enter the competition as defending champions after defeating Arsenal in last season’s final. That success made the French club only the second side in the Champions League era to retain the trophy, following Real Madrid’s run of three straight titles from 2016 to 2018.
PSG also became only the 10th club in the competition’s 71-year history to win European titles in successive seasons. They will now try to achieve another landmark by becoming the first team since Real Madrid to win the Champions League three seasons in a row.
The four pots contained the following clubs:
- Pot 1: PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
- Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting, Aston Villa, Porto, Manchester United, Club Brugge, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven.
- Pot 3: Feyenoord, Lille, Bodo/Glimt, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
- Pot 4: Viking, Slovan Bratislava, Slavia Prague, VfB Stuttgart, LASK, AEK Athens, Como, Lens and Sabah.
The completed Champions League draw produced the following eight-opponent schedules for every club:
| Club | League-phase opponents |
|---|---|
| Real Madrid | Inter Milan (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Roma (away), Leipzig (home), Shakhtar (away), LASK (home), AEK Athens (away) |
| Manchester City | PSG (home), Barcelona (away), Sporting Club (home), Porto (away), Napoli (home), Leipzig (away), AEK Athens (home), Lens (away) |
| Inter Milan | Liverpool (home), Real Madrid (away), Club Brugge (home), Borussia Dortmund (away), Shakhtar (home), Feyenoord (away), Stuttgart (home), Slovan Bratislava (away) |
| Barcelona | Man City (home), PSG (away), Aston Villa (home), Sporting Club (away), Feyenoord (home), Galatasaray (away), Como (home), Sabah (away) |
| Atletico Madrid | Bayern Munich (home), Liverpool (away), Manchester United (home), PSV (away), Fenerbahce (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Viking (home), Stuttgardt (away) |
| Paris Saint Germain | Barcelona (home), Man City (away), Roma (home), Aston Villa (away), Galatasaray (home), Villarreal (away), Bratislava (home), Como (away) |
| Liverpool | Atletico Madrid (home), Inter Milan (away), Porto (home), Club Brugge (away), Villarreal (home), Fenerbahce (away), Lens (home), LASK (away) |
| Arsenal | Real Madrid (home), Bayern Munich (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Real Betis (away), Lille (home), Napoli (away), Sabah (home), Slavia Prague (away) |
| Club Brugge | Liverpool (home), Inter Milan (away), Aston Villa (home), PSV (away), Bodo/Glimt (home), Napoli (away), Lens (home), Stuttgart (away) |
| Borussia Dortmund | Inter Milan (home), Arsenal (away), Real Betis (home), Aston Villa (away), Villarreal (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), AEK Athens (home), Sabah (away) |
| Porto | Manchester City (home), Liverpool (away), PSV (home), Real Betis (away), Napoli (home), Feyenoord (away), Slavia Prague (home), LASK (away) |
| Aston Villa | PSG (home), Barcelona (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Club Brugge (away), Fenerbahce (home), Galatasaray (away), Viking (home), Slavia Prague (away) |
| Real Betis | Arsenal (home), Bayern Munich (away), Porto (home), Borussia Dortmund (away), Feyenoord (home), Lille (away), Como (home), Slavia Bratislava (away) |
| Roma | Real Madrid (home), PSG (away), Sporting Club (home), Manchester United (away), Lille (home), Fenerbahce (away), Slavia Bratislava (home), AEK Athens (away) |
| Manchester United | Bayern Munich (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Roma (home), Sporting Club (away), Leipzig (home), Villarreal (away), Sabah (home), Como (away) |
| Sporting | Barcelona (home), Man City (away), Man Utd (home), Roma (away), Galatasaray (home), Shakhtar (away), LASK (home), Lens (away) |
| PSV Eindhoven | Atletico Madrid (home), Real Madrid (away), Club Brugge (home), Porto (away), Shakhtar (home), Leipzig (away), Stuttgart (home), Viking (away) |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | Real Madrid (home), Inter Milan (away), Sporting (home), PSV (away), Fenerbahce (home), Leipzig (away), AEK Athens (home), Slavia Bratislava (away) |
| RB Leipzig | Man City (home), Real Madrid (away), PSV (home), Man Utd (away), Shakhtar (home), Feyenoord (away), Lens (home), Como (away) |
| Feyenoord | Inter Milan (home), Barcelona (away), Porto (home), Real Betis (away), Leipzig (home), Galatasaray (away), Como (home), Viking (away) |
| Villarreal | PSG (home), Liverpool (away), Man Utd (home), Borussia Dortmund (away), Napoli (home), Fenerbahce (away), Sabah (home), Slavia Prague (away) |
| Bodo/Glimt | Atletico Madrid (home), Bayern Munich (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Club Brugge (away), Lille (home), Napoli (away), LASK (home), Lens (away) |
| Fenerbahce | Liverpool (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Roma (home), Aston Villa (away), Villarreal (home), Shakhtar (away), Slavia Prague (home), LASK (away) |
| Galatasaray | Barcelona (home), PSG (away), Aston Villa (home), Sporting (away), Feyenoord (home), Lille (away), Stuttgart (home), AEK Athens (away) |
| Napoli | Arsenal (home), Man City (away), Club Brugge (home), Porto (away), Bodo/Glimt (home), Villarreal (away), Viking (home), Sabah (away) |
| Lille | Bayern Munich (home), Arsenal (away), Real Betis (home), Roma (away), Galatasaray (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Slavia Bratislava (home), Stuttgart (away) |
| Slavia Prague | Arsenal (home), Bayern Munich (away), Aston Villa (home), Porto (away), Villarreal (home), Fenerbahce (away), Lens (home), Sabah (away) |
| Stuttgart | Atletico Madrid (home), Inter Milan (away), Club Brugge (home), PSV (away), Lille (home), Galatasaray (away), Viking (home), Slovan Bratislava (away) |
| Sabah | Barcelona (home), Arsenal (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Manchester United (away), Napoli (home), Villarreal (away), Slavia Prague (home), Viking (away) |
| AEK Athens | Real Madrid (home), Man City (away), Roma (home), Dortmund (away), Galatasaray (home), Shakhtar (away), LASK (home), Como (away) |
| RC Lens | Man City (home), Liverpool (away), Sporting CP (home), Club Brugge (away), Bodo/Glimt (home), RB Leipzig (away), Como (home), Slavia Prague (away) |
| Como | PSG (home), Barcelona (away), Manchester United (home), Real Betis (away), RB Leipzig (home), Feyenoord (away), AEK Athens (home), Lens (away) |
| Viking FK | Bayern Munich (home), Atletico Madrid (away), PSV (home), Aston Villa (away), Feyenoord (home), Napoli (away), Sabah (home), Stuttgart (away) |
| LASK | Liverpool (home), Real Madrid (away), Porto (home), Sporting CP (away), Fenerbahce (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Slovan Bratislava (home), AEK Athens (away) |
| SK Slovan Bratislava | Inter Milan (home), PSG (away), Real Betis (home), Roma (away), Shakhtar (home), Lille (away), Stuttgart (home), LASK (away) |
The draw leaves several clubs with particularly demanding programmes. Real Madrid, for example, must deal with Inter Milan, Arsenal and PSV alongside a number of other opponents, while Manchester City face PSG, Barcelona and Napoli among their eight fixtures.
PSG also face major tests despite entering the competition as holders. Their schedule includes home meetings with Barcelona and Roma, plus away trips to Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Arsenal’s route includes a home game against Real Madrid and meetings with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli. Liverpool will also encounter strong opposition, including Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, while Barcelona must play both Manchester City and PSG.
With eight different opponents and no traditional group stage, the new format gives every club a broader set of challenges from the beginning of the competition. The 2026-27 Champions League will therefore test squad depth, consistency and the ability to handle different opponents across the league phase.
Which club do you think received the toughest Champions League draw?
