The League Phase draw for the 2025-26 Champions League was completed in Monaco on Thursday evening, with all 36 teams handed a different set of eight fixtures stretching across September to January.
Europe’s most prestigious club competition enters its second year in its new format, and while the 2024-25 renovation sparked mixed reactions, the tournament certainly delivered some tantalising high-profile contests, and there is more of the same this term!
As many as six Premier League sides are completing in this year’s competition - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur - while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will attempt to retain their crown.
Fifteen-time winners Real Madrid will endeavour to extend their impressive record, while fellow European giant Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Juventus are among those also hoping to progress deep into the tournament.
Some teams, on paper, appear to have easier fixtures than others (click the link here to view the fixtures of all 36 teams), and with that in mind, Sports Mole takes a look and some of the winners and losers from the League Phase draw of the 2025-26 Champions League.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates in November 2023
Winners: Arsenal, Tottenham and Barcelona
Taking into account data from Opta's Power Rankings, North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham have been handed favourable draws, boasting the third and fourth-easiest set of fixtures for the League Phase.
Thomas Frank's Spurs will have plenty to smile about as they have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund, Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt and Norwegian newcomers Bodo/Glit who were all ranked in the bottom half of their respective pots, while a trip to holders PSG represents their toughest assignment.
Rivals Arsenal, meanwhile, will dread the sight of familiar foes Bayern Munich, and a trip to Inter Milan could prove challenging, but Mikel Arteta will back his team to prevail in clashes with the likes of Club Brugge, Olympiakos, Slavia Prague and Kazakhstani debutants Kairat Almaty, the latter are ranked 474th in the world by Opta which is lower than any other team in this season's competition.
Elsewhere, La Liga champions and last season’s Champions League semi-finalists Barcelona could lay down an early marker in this year’s League Phase. A home clash with PSG and a trip to Chelsea will not be easy, but they will be deemed as firm favourites in their remaining fixtures against Frankfurt, Club Brugge, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Copenhagen and Newcastle United.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot pictured on August 15, 2025
What about Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea?
Some will argue that there are a number of teams who are neither real winners or losers following the League Phase draw, with Premier League trio Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City falling into that category.
Currently ranked as the best European team by Opta, Premier League champions Liverpool will have their mettle tested against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Inter, while the Reds will be favourites to beat Frankfurt, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille and Galatasaray, but success is by no means a given against any of the established European quartet. A home fixture with Qarabag represents the easiest by far for Arne Slot’s troops.
As for Man City, they will renew acquaintances with Real Madrid (away) for the fifth successive season in the Champions League, while a tricky home clash with Serie A champions Napoli will see Kevin De Bruyne make a swift return to the Etihad. Clashes with Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Villarreal, Galatasaray and Monaco will pose their fair share of challenges for Pep Guardiola’s side, as may a trip to Scandinavia to face Bodo/Glimt.
FIFA Club World Cup winners Chelsea, meanwhile, will be pleased to have drawn lowly pair Pafos and Qarabag as well as Ajax, who were among the lowest-ranked team in Pot 3, but they will need to be at the top of their game to get the better of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Atalanta BC and Benfica, the latter pushed the Blues all the way in the knockout rounds of the CWC.
Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain with the Champions League trophy on May 31, 2025
Losers: PSG, Bayern and Newcastle
PSG and Bayern Munich were both placed in Pot 1 for the League Phase draw, but they have been handed the toughest sets of fixtures of all 36 teams, according to Opta.
In previous editions of the Champions League, Pot 1 clubs avoided fellow top European teams more often than not, but the new format throws up several heavyweight battles in the early stages and both Bayern and PSG will be tasked with navigating through a few of those this term, including one intriguing fixture against each other!
While Bayern have also been drawn against Arsenal, Chelsea, Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon, Eredivisie winners PSV and Belgian giants Club Brugge, who have soared up Opta’s Power Rankings to 32nd in the world, Luis Enrique’s PSG will take on Barcelona, Atalanta, Leverkusen, Tottenham, Sporting and arguably the two strongest teams from Pot 4 - Newcastle and Athletic Bilbao.
Newcastle, meanwhile, were always likely to be presented with a tricky fixture schedule as a Pot 4 team, and it turns out that they have been handed the fifth-toughest set of fixtures overall. The Magpies are in fact the only Premier League club who sit in the bottom half of the rankings for fixture difficulty, with matches against Barcelona, PSG, Leverkusen, Benfica, Union SG and Athletic on the horizon for Eddie Howe’s side.
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