Three months after Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time in team history with a 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in Munich, the draw for the league phase of the 2025-26 season has now mapped out the path to this edition's final in Budapest, Hungary.
PSG, Real Madrid and Liverpool lead the list of favorites to emerge as Champions League winners in the Puskas Arena on May 30, 2026, but Arsenal, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and FIFA Club World Cup winners Chelsea will also have aspirations of lifting the trophy at the end of this season. So with all 32 competing teams now knowing their fixture list for the league phase, what are the stand-out stories of the Champions League draw?
It was a good draw for ...
Arsenal
Are Arsenal the biggest club that have never won the Champions League? It might be a toss of a coin between the Gunners and Atletico Madrid for that prize, but Mikel Arteta's side reached the semifinals last season and they have a decent path to the knockout stage this time around.
- Marcotti: Seven truths about transfer market
- Ogden: The beginning of the end for Amorim after Grimsby loss?
- Connelly: Early season overreactions in European soccer
Arsenal face Atletico and Bayern Munich at the Emirates and the toughest away trip is probably to face Inter Milan, but with Simone Inzaghi quitting as coach after guiding the Nerrazzurri to last season's final, the Italian outfit are in transition under new boss Cristian Chivu. A big result for Arsenal is facing Kairat Almaty at home, rather than having to travel 4,200 miles to Kazakhstan for a much more difficult away game.
Napoli
Italian champions Napoli were the dangerous outsiders in Pot 4, but apart from two tough games against Premier League opponents in Chelsea (H) and Man City (A), Antonio Conte's side should coast into the next phase.
Napoli have home games against Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting CP and Qarabag, with away games against PSV Eindhoven, Benfica and Copenhagen. But they have avoided the big guns (Liverpool, PSG, Real and Bayern) in Pot A, and as such it would be a major surprise if Napoli to make it to the knockout stages.
Manchester City
The 2023 Champions League winners had a dismal European campaign last season and only snuck into the playoff stage -- before losing against Real Madrid -- on the final matchday.
It should be more straightforward for Pep Guardiola's team this season, though. Aside from another clash with Real in the Santiago Bernabeu, City will be happy to face Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray and Napoli at home. Away trips to Villarreal, Bodo/Glimt and Monaco shouldn't be too much of a concern to the Premier League side, either, even as Guardiola's side remain a bit of a work in progress.
Tottenham
Europa League winners Tottenham have the daunting task of traveling to Champions League winners PSG -- the French side won last month's Super Cup clash in Udine with a late fightback -- but the rest of the fixtures for Thomas Frank's team are eminently winnable.
Spurs won at Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt on the way to Europa League glory last season, so they will not fear return trips to both clubs, while home games against Dortmund, Villarreal, Slavia Prague and FC Copenhagen should be comfortable. An away trip to Monaco could be tough, especially if Paul Pogba hits top form with his new club, but overall this is a good draw for Spurs.
It was a bad draw for ...
Paris Saint-Germain
Luis Enrique's team needed a win away to VfB Stuttgart on the final league matchday last season to claim a place in the playoff round after making hard work of the league phase. The rest is history, with PSG going all the way to become Champions League winners, but the French club have another tough path this season.
Bayern (H), Barcelona (A), Atalanta (H), Leverkusen (A) and Spurs (H) make for some heavyweight clashes, while Sporting CP and Athletic Club also pose difficult away trips. And who knows what test Newcastle will offer when they visit Parc des Princes, two years after a controversial draw in Paris contributed to their group stage exit.
Chelsea
World champions Chelsea won the Conference League last season, so their squad has plenty of European experience, but Enzo Maresca's side have a tough set of fixtures ahead of them.
Barcelona's visit to Stamford Bridge will revive memories of titanic clashes from the past and Benfica will also make life difficult for the Blues, although encounters with Ajax and Pafos should be more straightforward. But away from home, Chelsea have some daunting games to negotiate. Bayern Munich, Atalanta and Napoli are all very tough road trips, while a long journey to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag will offer its own problems when it comes to logistics and fitness.
Real Madrid
First of all, let's put this in context. Real Madrid always find a way to get into the knockout stage, whether they are playing well or not, but despite their pedigree, the Spanish giants under new manager Xabi Alonso still have a tough path this time around.
A trip to Liverpool will be a box office occasion, while Benfica away is never an easy fixture. Real should be happy with a trip to Olympiacos, but the travel demands of their away game with Kairat Almaty cannot be overstated.
Even at home, Real have some tricky fixtures against Manchester City, Juventus, Marseille and Monaco -- all games that Real will expect to win, but they are also opponents who could each hurt Xabi Alonso's team.
Newcastle United
There are plenty of glamour games ahead for Eddie Howe's team, but it is also a hazardous set of fixtures for the Premier League club.
Barcelona at home will revive memories of a Faustino Asprilla hat-trick in a famous St James's Park 3-2 win in 1997, while there is recent history of controversy in Paris ahead of the trip to PSG. Benfica, PSV and Athletic Club are all due to visit St James's, while there are tough trips to Marseille, Leverkusen and Union SG for Newcastle to overcome.
Emotional reunion or unwelcome home?
The Champions League draw has offered some emotional (and uncomfortable) reunions for plenty of players. Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to Liverpool with Real Madrid just months after being booed by the Reds' fans for running down his contract in order to join the Spanish club. But while Alexander-Arnold can expect a caustic reception, Kevin De Bruyne will be welcomed like a returning hero when he heads back to Manchester City with Napoli.
Hugo Ekitike faces a quick return to Eintracht Frankfurt with Liverpool following an amicable summer move to Anfield, while Eric Dier can look forward to a reunion with his former teammates at Tottenham. Antonio Conte, meanwhile, will go up against former club Chelsea when the London side head to Napoli.
While it will be anything but a reunion, former Tottenham forward Harry Kane knows he will be in for a hot reception when he returns to North London with Bayern Munich to face Arsenal.
Must-see matches of the league phase
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid
It's a game rich in Champions League history between two of the favorites to win this season's competition. It is a tie that has everything, including Alexander-Arnold's return to Anfield to face his former club.
Real have beaten Liverpool twice in recent finals in 2018 and 2022, but Arne Slot's side secured a victory against Real at Anfield in last year's league phase. When they meet at Anfield, there will be superstars all over the pitch as Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappé, VinÃcius Júnior and Florian Wirtz all battle to emerge as the headline-maker.
Barcelona vs. PSG
This matchup has become a modern-day Champions League classic, with Barca's unforgettable 6-1 win in 2017 -- after losing 4-0 in a round-of-16 tie in Paris -- among the most incredible games the tournament has ever seen. The two sides have met 14 times and the head-to-head is identical, with both sides winning five times and four draws between them. They have also both scored 27 goals in the games against each other.
The game in Catalonia will see Luis Enrique return to the club that he led to Champions League success in 2015, so this will be a big night for the PSG coach.
Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich
Bayern have tended to dominate their meetings with the Gunners over the years, winning eight and losing just three of their 14 previous encounters. But Arteta's side are a developing force in England and Europe, and this clash at the Emirates will give the Gunners an early chance to hammer out their credentials as potential winners.
Bayern remain Germany's powerhouse team, though, and they will be determined to maintain their hold over Arsenal -- and you can bet Harry Kane will be desperate to inflict more pain on Arteta's team.
Chelsea vs. Barcelona
These two have met on 14 previous occasions, with four wins apiece and six draws, but games between Chelsea and Barcelona are usually high-energy and with plenty of controversy. The 2009 semifinal at Stamford Bridge boiled over when referee Tom Henning Ovrebo dismissed four Chelsea penalty appeals before Andres Iniesta's stoppage time goal sealed a place in the final on the away goals rule.
Chelsea gained revenge with a 3-2 aggregate semifinal win three years later on their way to winning the competition for the first time. With so much history, expect fireworks when the two sides meet in London.
Kairat Almaty vs. Real Madrid
This is a game for the football romantics who yearn for games that pit heavy underdogs against superpower teams, and Real's trip to Kazakhstan to face Kairat Almaty emphatically ticks that box.
Kairat made it through to the league phase with a penalty shoot-out win against Celtic -- keeper Temirlan Anarbekov saved three spot-kicks -- and they have been rewarded with a clash against the biggest club in the world and the most successful side in Champions League history. Real will be wary of an upset against the rank outsiders because they will still have memories of their 2-1 defeat at home to Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in Sept 2021.
Other big clubs' fortunes in a sentence
Liverpool: The Reds have the toughest set of games based on the UEFA coefficient, but apart from a home game against Real Madrid, Arne Slot's team look to have a comfortable run in the league phase.
Barcelona: PSG at home is the big game for Barca, but they could come unstuck with tricky away games against Chelsea and Newcastle. The rest of their section should make life easier for Hansi Flick's side.
Inter Milan: It's hard to gauge Inter after last season's 5-0 hammering against PSG in the final and a new manager, but home games against Liverpool and Arsenal have spared them tough trips to England.
Juventus: Real Madrid in the Spanish capital is a tough game for the Italian giants, but they will be happy to be paired with Borussia Dortmund rather than one of the other big guns from Pot 1.
Bayern Munich: They face big games against Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal, but overall the Bavarians will be happy with their eight fixtures and fancy their chances of finishing in the top eight to avoid the playoff round.