Heavyweight Clashes Await English Clubs in Champions League “League Stage”

Liverpool and Manchester City have both been paired with record 15-time winners Real Madrid in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, while Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United must take on defending champions Paris St-Germain, Sport360NG reports.

The expanded 36-team format, introduced last year, features six English clubs for the first time. Under the rules, Premier League sides cannot be drawn against each other until the knockout rounds.

Liverpool, six-time winners of the competition, face a testing run of fixtures including home games against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, plus an away trip to last year’s finalists Inter Milan. Pep Guardiola’s City, meanwhile, will meet Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Villarreal in addition to their clash with Madrid.

Chelsea have also been handed a heavyweight draw, with Barcelona and Bayern Munich among their opponents, while Arsenal must take on Harry Kane’s Bayern and Inter Milan.

Newcastle’s return to Europe’s top stage sees Barcelona visit St James’ Park, while Tottenham, who qualified by winning the Europa League, are up against PSG, Dortmund and Monaco.

The group-phase matches begin on Tuesday, 16 September, and run until 28 January 2026. The final will take place in Budapest.

Premier League fixtures at a glance:

• 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 (H), Marseille (A), Athletic Bilbao (H), Union SG (A).

England will have a strong presence in the competition after Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle secured top-five Premier League finishes. Spurs joined them by winning the Europa League.

Aston Villa, who finished sixth, drop into the Europa League along with Nottingham Forest. FA Cup winners Crystal Palace will compete in the Conference League due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

Scotland’s Celtic and Rangers both failed to qualify for the main tournament.