Rematches and reunions await following the draw for the league phase of the Champions League.
Last season’s runners-up Arsenal host Real Madrid and travel to Bayern Munich, while Manchester City will meet Rodri soon after his move to Barcelona.
Aston Villa meanwhile have another meeting with Paris Saint-Germain, while Manchester United and Liverpool have arguably been handed kinder draws.
Here, we rank the five English sides’ Champions League draws, starting with the easiest – on paper, at least. (Note, fixture dates are still TBC)
- Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal, Lens
- Inter, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Lask
Andoni Iraola’s side should be targeting a clean sweep at home with Atletico Madrid their hardest opponents, but Fenerbahce away stands out as Liverpool toiled in Turkey earlier this year when losing 1-0 at Galatasaray.
Inter away gives Liverpool fans a chance to visit the iconic San Siro, and when compared to the other English sides, this draw certainly looks the most favourable.
- Bayern Munich, Roma, Leipzig, Sabah
- Atletico Madrid, Sporting, Villarreal, Como
Fun? A trip to Fabregas’ Como is the standout for English sides in terms of the pot-four teams, but they should still beat the Italian side and look to take points in Spain and Portugal as well.
Welcoming Bayern Munich to Old Trafford certainly trumps travelling to the German side, and United will expect to beat Roma, Leipzig and Sabah at home as well. Knowing United, it will not be plain-sailing, but there should be little chance of finishing outside the top 24 with this draw. Really, they should be eyeing the top eight.
- Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbahce, Viking
- Barcelona, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Slavia Praha
Villa have got a dream away trip to Barcelona and, although their fans will eye roll at another meeting with Club Brugge, it is a kind second-pot team to draw away and a third chance in three seasons for their fans to sample the Belgian beer. Add to that a return to Istanbul, where they won the Europa League in May, and supporters will be relatively pleased.
The eyes will have rolled once more though when their name was drawn against PSG. They lost 2-1 to the Champions League holders in the Super Cup earlier this month, and were also knocked out by the French side two years ago – although they did push them close. Home matches against Dortmund and Fenerbahce make a top-eight push, as Villa achieved in 2024-25, a little harder this time around.
- Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting, Napoli, AEK Athens
- Barcelona, Porto, Leipzig, Lens
Who says Manchester City always get it easy? The season Pep Guardiola goes it gets a little harder in Europe, with Enzo Maresca’s side welcoming holders Paris Saint-Germain to the Etihad and travelling to Barcelona for a reunion with Rodri.
City could hardly have asked for two tougher pot three teams, meaning matches with Napoli – another reunion, this time with Kevin De Bruyne – and Leipzig add to the difficulty given they also drew Portuguese sides Sporting and Porto from pot two. They face a fight to finish inside the top eight.
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- Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, Sabah
- Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli, Slavia Praha
Last season’s runners-up contributed towards a blockbuster start to this draw on Thursday, when club legend Thierry Henry drew out Real Madrid before Arsenal flashed up as their opponents.
That means Jose Mourinho is coming to the Emirates, so too Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe etc., and the meeting with Real Madrid will be among the standout fixtures of the league phase. Declan Rice, get practising those free-kicks again.
What makes this particularly difficult are the away trips to Bayern Munich and Napoli. Of course, they need only finished inside the top 24, but the Gunners face a challenge to finish inside the top eight. A nightmare? Possibly, if finishing outside the top eight adds to the fixture schedule in the New Year, but in their pursuit to finally end the wait in Europe, it is one they should relish.