Who are the opponents? A look at the rivals of five Premier League teams in the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League league phase.
The draw for the league phase of the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League has been finalized. Here are the opponents for the five English Premier League teams.
Manchester United (England)
Bayern Munich (home) - Atletico Madrid (away) - Roma (home) - Sporting Lisbon (away) - RB Leipzig (home) - Villarreal (away) - Sabah (home) - Como (away)
Manchester United's return to the UCL sees them immediately facing giants Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid. While the other opponents are less daunting than these two, they cannot be underestimated.
Liverpool (England)
Atletico Madrid (home) - Inter Milan (away) - Porto (home) - Club Brugge (away) - Villarreal (home) - Fenerbahce (away) - Lens (home) - LASK (away)
Liverpool’s most challenging opponents are Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan. The rest of the group is not particularly tough overall, but Andoni Iraola must prepare well for his first Champions League campaign with the Reds.
Arsenal (England)
Real Madrid (home) - Bayern Munich (away) - Dortmund (home) - Real Betis (away) - Lille (home) - Napoli (away) - Sabah (home) - Slavia Prague (away)
This group promises excitement as Arsenal faces Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Napoli. Arsenal has started the Premier League season strongly and overall looks set to do well in the UCL.
Manchester City (England)
PSG (home) - Barcelona (away) - Sporting Lisbon (home) - FC Porto (away) - Napoli (home) - RB Leipzig (away) - AEK Athens (home) - Lens (away)
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca faces a tough task against defending champions PSG, Barcelona, and Napoli. They should find it easier to secure wins against the other opponents.
Aston Villa (England)
PSG (home) - Barcelona (away) - Dortmund (home) - Club Brugge (away) - Fenerbahce (home) - Galatasaray (away) - Viking (home) - Slavia Prague (away)
Unai Emery's Aston Villa faces strong opponents PSG and Barcelona right away. Having lost several key players this season, their squad is not as strong as when they won the Europa League last season, making their progression uncertain and a major concern among English teams.
The UEFA Champions League league phase features 36 teams, each playing 8 matches—4 home and 4 away. Teams from the same country do not meet at this stage. The top 8 teams advance to the last 16, those ranked 9-24 enter playoffs, and teams placed 25-36 are eliminated without access to the Europa League.