Liverpool and Man City draw Real in Champions League

In the Champions League’s first half of the season, Tottenham and Newcastle must play Paris St-Germain, while Real Madrid and Liverpool will square off against each other 15 times.

Six Premier League teams will be in action for the first time under the 36-team league, which was introduced last year, but they will not compete against each other until the knockout stages.

Six-time champions Liverpool face Atletico Madrid and beaten champions Inter Milan in their eight games, with Pep Guardiola’s City taking on Napoli and Borussia Dortmund, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real face Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real at Anfield.

Arsenal take on Harry Kane’s Bayern and Inter, while Chelsea take on giants Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Tottenham play Dortmund and Monaco, while Newcastle return to the competition with trips to St James’ Park for Barcelona.

The final round of league games will take place on January 28th, 2026, with exact schedules to be announced in the coming days. The first games will take place on Tuesday, September 16th.

Borussia Dortmund (home), Real Madrid (away), Bayer Leverkusen (home), Villarreal (away), Napoli (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Galatasaray (home), and Monaco (away) are the main cities for Manchester City.

Chelsea: Barcelona (home), Bayern Munich (home), Benfica (home), Atalanta (home), Napoli (home), Pafos (home), and Qarabag (home).

Arsenal: Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Inter Milan, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Kairat Almaty, Athletic Bilbao, and Bayern Munich.

Tottenham: Borussia Dortmund (home), Paris St-Germain (away), Villarreal (home), Eintracht Frankfurt (away), Slavia Prague (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Copenhagen (home), and Monaco (away).

Barcelona (at home), Paris St-Germain (away), Benfica (at home), Bayer Leverkusen (at home), Marseille (at home), Athletic Bilbao (at home) and Union SG (away), respectively.

With top-five Premier League finishes, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle were all awarded the spots. With the Europa League victory, Tottenham reclaimed their position.

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, who were in sixth place, had to accept the Europa League. Crystal Palace, the FA Cup’s champion, is in the Conference League after being expelled from the Europa League due to multi-club ownership laws.

PSV Eindhoven’s league draw has been the toughest because of their average Uefa coefficient against their opponents. They will also take on two of the top three seeds from Pot 2: Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, as well as the champions of England, Germany, and Italy, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Napoli.

Both Manchester City and Liverpool faced 15-time champion Real Madrid in a fairly difficult game. Additionally, Pep Guardiola’s side will face Galatasaray and Monaco against Bayer Leverkusen and Napoli as well as two of the top four seeds from Pot 4. Inter and Atletico Madrid will play for Arne Slot’s side in the final game of last year.

Following the draw, Atalanta will likely be the club with the best possible results. They faced champions Paris St-Germain and Chelsea, who won the club world cup, in addition to the two lowest seeds in Pot 2, Eintracht Frankfurt and Club Brugge, as well as two of the three lowest seeds in Pot 3 in Slavia Prague and Marseille.

In the league phase, each of the 36 teams plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away.

Teams that place ninth through 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them, while those who place in the top eight will automatically advance to the last 16.

Sides placed 25th or lower will be eliminated, and they will not be able to compete in the Europa League.

Liverpool finished second in the table last season, with 21 points, while Aston Villa and Arsenal also placed in the top eight.

Watch highlights of every Champions League game on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport, and the BBC Sport website and app from 12:00 to eve of the match.