In the league phase of the current season’s league, champions Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona will square off against record-eighteen champions Real Madrid, who have already defeated them 15 times.
In theory, PSG’s league opponents will be matches against Athletic Bilbao and Newcastle United in England.
In a replay of their Super Cup victory two weeks ago, Tottenham, the Europa League champion, will also face PSG. Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon complete PSG’s eight-game schedule.
Real Madrid also received a challenging draw, which included a trip far east to Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty, which is located 6,420 kilometers (4, 000 miles) away from the Spanish capital.
Madrid faced Manchester City, whom it defeated in the knockout playoffs last year, and a return to Liverpool after defeating Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in the league phase last year. The pot of highest-ranked teams gave Madrid two English opponents.
In addition to its 2017 final victory, Madrid will face Juventus, two French rivals, Marseille and Monaco, where superstar forward Kylian Mbappe began his career.
Fans of Liverpool will welcome Trent Alexander-Arnold back from his Madrid return and make frequent trips to Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Galatasaray’s vibrant stadiums.
Bayern Munich will face PSG, PSG, and Chelsea, the 2012 champion at home, in a rematch of the previous final, which it defeated in the 2020 final. Additionally, Bayern will travel to Cyprus to face Pafos.
North of the Arctic Circle, Manchester City will face Bodo/Glimt of Norway and former Manchester City fan Kevin De Bruyne’s new club Napoli.
Liverpool and Arsenal will host Inter Milan’s top two Premier League rivals last season, losing two of their final three games. Last season, Inter defeated Arsenal at the San Siro.
Club Brugge, Olympiakos, and Pafos will also be present at Kairat. To play at Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon, the team also has to travel four time zones west.
Juventus, Tottenham, and Monaco will also be playing against Bodo/Glimt.
Another long-haul journey east to Baku for Chelsea, Eintracht, Ajax, and Copenhagen is via Qarabag in Azerbaijan.
What will the trophy’s next name be? ✒️#UCLdraw pic. https://twitter.com/fl/b1cisxsES
36 teams are ranked in a single-standings table and play eight different opponents in the second season of the league phase format, which runs until January 1.
Bodo/Glimt, Kairat Almaty, Pafos, and Belgian champion Union Saint-Gilloise are the only newcomers to the Champions League’s main competition.
Bodo and Almaty games have the potential to be the visiting teams’ longest-ever home games, and they also have the coldest winter games ever. Bodo plays on a heated artificial turf field.
Each team received two opponents from each of the four seeding pots in a computerized drawing. Teams are ranked based on their UEFA competition ranking over the course of five seasons.
Former World Cup winner Kaka pressed the button to reveal the opponents’ names while retired great Zlatan Ibrahimovic selected each team from its draw.
The final league matchday is January 28 and the games begin on September 16. All 36 teams play 18 games that start at once on that same Wednesday evening.
The final eight teams advance to the March 16th round. Eight knockout playoffs featuring teams ranked ninth through 24 will be held in their place in February. The top 12 teams have been eliminated.
Source: Aljazeera
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