Liverpool and Manchester City will each face Real Madrid in this season’s Champions League.
Gatekeepers News reports that defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were drawn against a challenging set of opponents on Thursday, featuring Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Xabi Alonso’s Real will travel to Anfield to face Arne Slot’s Liverpool, while also welcoming Pep Guardiola’s City to the Santiago Bernabéu.
Liverpool, last season’s league phase winners who were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, will also meet Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, and Qarabag at home. Their away trips include Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Galatasaray.
City, winners of the 2023 edition, will host Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, and Galatasaray at the Etihad. In addition to their Real Madrid encounter, they must travel to Villarreal, Monaco, and Norwegian debutants Bodo/Glimt.
Defending champions PSG, guided by Luis Enrique, face another tough campaign. They will host Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur, travel to Barcelona and Newcastle, and also meet Atalanta, Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon, and Athletic Bilbao.
The French champions, who struggled in the new format last season before eventually lifting the trophy, will have no easy fixtures this time.
Elsewhere, Barcelona are scheduled to travel to Chelsea and Newcastle, while Arsenal will welcome Bayern and Atletico at home before making trips to Inter Milan and Athletic Bilbao.
Tournament debutants Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan will host Real Madrid and travel to Arsenal, while Cypriot side Pafos will face Chelsea away and Bayern at home.
The new league-format competition sees all 36 teams play eight matches against different opponents. The top eight advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing 9th to 24th head to the knockout play-offs. The bottom 12 are eliminated.
The opening round of matches will take place between September 16 and 18, with the final scheduled for May 30, 2026, in Budapest.
UEFA confirmed that kick-off will be at 6:00 pm local time, three hours earlier than the traditional 9:00 pm start.
