UEFA Champions League: Defending champions PSG to face Barcelona, Man City; full draw

Two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain have been handed a challenging set of fixtures in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, with Barcelona, Manchester City and Aston Villa among their eight opponents following Thursday’s draw.

PSG, who defeated Arsenal on penalties in May to successfully defend their European title, will host Barcelona, Italian side Roma, Turkish champions Galatasaray and Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava during the league phase.

Luis Enrique’s side will make two trips to England to take on Manchester City and Aston Villa. PSG defeated both clubs during their run to a maiden Champions League triumph in 2025.

The French champions will also travel to Spain to face Villarreal and to Italy to meet Como, which is coached by former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

The league phase is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, 8 September, with matches running through Thursday, 10 September. The final league-phase fixtures are set to be played in late January. UEFA is expected to release the complete fixture schedule on Saturday.

Arsenal handed Bayern Munich and Real Madrid matches

Last season's runners-up Arsenal, the Premier League champions, will notably host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lille as well as Sabah, the club from Azerbaijan, who came through four two-legged qualifying ties to reach the league phase for the first time.

The Gunners have a tough list of away ties against Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague.

Andoni Iraola's Liverpool will be at home to Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens, while playing Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and Austrian league phase debutants LASK away.

Manchester United, who were not in the first pot of seeds, have home games against Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig, and Sabah, as well as a series of difficult away fixtures against Atletico, Sporting CP, Villarreal, and Como.

Other notable games include Manchester City visiting Barcelona and Real Madrid entertaining Inter, while last season's Europa League winners, Villa, must go to Barcelona and play Dortmund at home, and also tackle Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

The latter are appearing in the Champions League proper for the first time since 2008/09 after beating Lyon in the play-offs this week.

New names in this season's competition are Como, who have upset the traditional order in Serie A, and Sabah, while LASK made it to this stage for the first time after a stunning comeback win over Celtic in the play-offs.

Last year's Norwegian champions, Viking, have reached the Champions League proper for the first time, and they have a glamorous fixture list that includes Bayern, Atletico, Villa and Napoli.

This is the third season since the introduction of the new Champions League format, with 36 teams now pooled into one giant league, each playing eight opponents. This season's final will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on 5 June 2027.

(With inputs from AFP)