The 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League draw for the league phase was held in Monaco, France, today (Thursday) with some exciting fixtures lined up for the Premier League representatives.
Reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions Chelsea will face familiar foes Barcelona, Bayern Munich, as well as Ajax and Napoli.
The Blues, who wom the UEFA Conference League last season, will also take on Atalanta, Pafos, Benfica and Qarabag.
They will host Barcelona, Benfica, Ajax, and Pafos at Stamford Bridge and will be guests to Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Napoli and Qarabag.
Before the draw got underway, the Blues were presented with a special award for becoming the first club to win the six UEFA Men’s competitions: the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, Super Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup, Youth League.
It is the first time Chelsea will compete in the Champions League since the introduction of the 36-team league phase.
For Arsenal, they will take on Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Club Brugge, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague, Kairat Almaty and Athletic Bilbao.
Mikel Arteta’s men will host Bayern, Athletico, Olympiakos and debutants Kairat at Emirates Stadium. Then on their travels, they will return to the San Siro to tackle Inter for the second season in a row, as well as trips to Bruges, Prague and Bilbao.
There will be an Anfield return for Trent Alexander-Arnold as Real Madrid visit Liverpool for the second successive season. The Reds’ other Pot 1 opponents are last term’s Champions League runners-up Inter, with a difficult trip to San Siro ahead of Slot’s side.
Liverpool will host Atlético Madrid in a challenging clash and their other Pot 2 adversaries are Hugo Ekitiké’s former club Eintracht Frankfurt. The Frenchman will return to his former home in the league phase.
Cody Gakpo’s former side PSV Eindhoven are on the horizon for the second season running, although this clash comes at Anfield. A trip to Marseille, now under the watch of Roberto De Zerbi, will be far from simple.
The Reds face Azerbaijani side Qarabağ from Pot 4 but have avoided the lengthy trip across Europe. However, they will have to make an unwanted journey to Galatasaray in Turkey.
Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Real Madrid are amongst the sides City will face in the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League.
Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt, Galatasaray, Monaco and Villarreal complete the lineup of teams