European champions Paris St-Germain have been handed heavyweight meetings with Manchester City, Aston Villa and Barcelona in the league phase of the new Champions League season.
PSG, who have won the competition in successive seasons, will host five-time European champions Barcelona at Parc des Princes. They will also travel to England for matches against Premier League sides Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Last season’s runners-up Arsenal face another demanding European campaign. Mikel Arteta’s side will welcome 15-time champions Real Madrid to Emirates Stadium and travel to Bayern Munich.
Arsenal’s other opponents are Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille, Napoli, Azerbaijan champions Sabah and Slavia Prague. The Gunners reached last season’s final but were beaten by PSG on penalties.
Manchester City will also have several intriguing encounters. Enzo Maresca’s team host PSG at Etihad Stadium before travelling to Barcelona, where they will come up against former midfielder Rodri. The Spanish World Cup winner joined Barcelona in a £65m move this summer.
Another former City midfielder, Kevin de Bruyne, will return to Manchester when Napoli visit. City will also play Sporting, Porto, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens.
Europa League winners Aston Villa return to the Champions League after missing the competition last season. Unai Emery’s side will host PSG and Borussia Dortmund, while trips to Barcelona and Galatasaray are also on their schedule. Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Viking and Slavia Prague complete Villa’s eight opponents.
Manchester United are back in the tournament following a two-year absence and have been drawn against Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Sporting, Leipzig, Villarreal, Sabah and Como.
Liverpool’s home fixtures will be against Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens. Their away matches take them to Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and LASK.
Under the league-phase format, all 36 clubs play eight different opponents, with four matches at home and four away. The top eight teams advance directly to the last 16, while teams finishing from ninth to 24th enter two-legged knockout play-offs. Clubs placed 25th or below are eliminated without dropping into the Europa League.
The league phase begins on Tuesday, 8 September, with the final round scheduled for 27 January 2027. The exact fixture schedule will be announced on Saturday.
This season’s Champions League final will take place in Madrid on 5 June.
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