Liverpool and Manchester City have both been drawn against 15-time winners Real Madrid in the Champions League league phase, while Chelsea will come up against Barcelona.
For the first time, six Premier League clubs will feature in the new 36-team league format, introduced last season. However, they cannot face each other until the knockout rounds.
Liverpool, six-time winners of the competition, will not only host Real Madrid at Anfield but also face Atletico Madrid and last season’s runners-up Inter Milan among their eight fixtures. Pep Guardiola’s City will meet Napoli and Borussia Dortmund, alongside Real.
Chelsea’s schedule includes heavyweight clashes with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, while Arsenal also take on Bayern and Inter. Newcastle’s return to the competition brings Barcelona to St James’ Park, and Tottenham—who qualified by lifting the Europa League—will face Dortmund and Monaco.
The group stage begins on Tuesday, 16 September, with the final round of fixtures concluding on 28 January 2026. The final will be held at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on 30 May 2026.
How the format works
• Each of the 36 teams plays eight matches against eight different opponents—four at home and four away.
• The top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16.
• Teams finishing 9th–24th enter a two-legged play-off for a last-16 spot.
• Those ranked 25th or lower are eliminated, with no drop into the Europa League.
Fixtures for Premier League clubs
Liverpool: Real Madrid (H), Inter Milan (A), Atletico Madrid (H), Eintracht Frankfurt (A), PSV Eindhoven (H), Marseille (A), Qarabag (H), Galatasaray (A)
Manchester City: Borussia Dortmund (H), Real Madrid (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), Villarreal (A), Napoli (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H), Monaco (A)
Chelsea: Barcelona (H), Bayern Munich (A), Benfica (H), Atalanta (A), Ajax (H), Napoli (A), Pafos (H), Qarabag (A)
Arsenal: Bayern Munich (H), Inter Milan (A), Atletico Madrid (A), Club Brugge (H), Olympiacos (A), Slavia Prague (H), Kairat Almaty (A), Athletic Bilbao (H)
Tottenham: Borussia Dortmund (H), Paris St-Germain (A), Villarreal (H), Eintracht Frankfurt (A), Slavia Prague (H), Bodo/Glimt (A), Copenhagen (H), Monaco (A)
Newcastle: Barcelona (H), Paris St-Germain (A), Benfica (H), Bayer Leverkusen (A), PSV Eindhoven (H), Marseille (A), Athletic Bilbao (H), Union SG (A)
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Newcastle qualified via top-five Premier League finishes, while Tottenham booked their place by winning the Europa League.
