The Champions League is back for another campaign. Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to retain their status as champions after their record-breaking 5-0 victory over Inter Milan, while the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City will be hot on the tails of the French heavyweights.
Last season, UEFA made a host of changes to how Europe’s premier competition played out: the number of competing teams increased from 32 to 36, the long-standing idea of group stages were scrapped and, instead, a league phase was introduced.
The success of the competition’s revamped look has meant the new format has trickled into the 2025/26 season as expected – and the draw, which took place on Thursday afternoon, has got fans excited. But which sides have the easiest run-in? And which sides are looking at their sets of eight opening fixtures with nerves?
The folks over at Opta have used their Power Rankings, which works by ranking 13,000 teams across the world, to give an objective average rating of each side’s first eight Champions League encounters for the new season – from the easiest to the most difficult.
18 Easiest Champions League Fixtures
Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Real Madrid v Arsenal - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - April 16, 2025 Arsenal players pose for a team group photo before the match
Of all the teams competing, minnows Pafos – who secured the signing of ex-Premier League defender David Luiz this summer – have the easiest run-in of the lot – their average rating of their opponents is at 88.7, which is joint with Copenhagen.
For clubs that ply their trade in the Premier League, there is plenty to smile about as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Chelsea have all been given objectively easier run-ins to start their respective 2025/26 campaigns at Europe’s top table.
Mikel Arteta’s men, who are one of the biggest clubs to never win the Champions League, will endure the simplest of runs as they look to secure passage to the competition’s knockout rounds. In fact, they have the third-easiest run of all 36 teams that are competing.
Although they host the likes of Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, they get to welcome Kairat – who are ranked 474th in the world per Opta’s Power Rankings – to the Emirates Stadium as well as head to Qarabag in search of three points.
With a slightly more difficult run are Thomas Frank’s Spurs, who have to visit Paris Saint-Germain, Eintracht Frankfurt and Monaco in their first eight games after winning the Europa League last time out. Villarreal and Ajax follow in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Liverpool and Chelsea are next up with both teams licking their lips at their relatively simple – on paper, at least – run-in. Liverpool will play the likes of Real Madrid, marking the return of Trent Alexadner-Arnold to Anfield, and Inter Milan away from home.
chelsea crystal palace
Enzo Maresca’s men have a difficulty rating of 89.9, which is equalled by Inter Milan, Juventus and Olympiacos. Serial Champions League winners Real Madrid, too, face an objectively easy route to the knockout stages of the competition in their first campaign under the stewardship of Xabi Alonso.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who will welcome the likes of Los Blancos, Villarreal, Bodo/Glimt and Monaco to England in pursuit of continental glory, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Monaco and Bodo/Glimt round off the list of teams that have, on paper, the simpler eight-game run in the league phase.
Champions League 2025/26 - 18 Easiest Draws
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18 Hardest Champions League Fixtures
Barcelona
Now, we enter the upper echelons of difficulty – and you guessed it, Newcastle United are among the unlucky teams that are competing in Europe’s top-tier competition. The Magpies – who are set to face Barcelona and PSG – are ranked 32nd overall.
Among them are Benfica, who just about creep into this set of 18 teams with an average difficulty rating of 90.7. The Portuguese giants are set to face Chelsea, Real Madrid and Juventus. Galatasaray, led by boss Okan Buruk, just about have an easier run of games.
Looking to stamp their mark on European football are Club Brugge who, alongside the aforementioned Turkish outfit, possess a rating of 90.8. Barcelona are one of the runaway favourites to win the competition and will face Chelsea, PSG and Olympiacos to name a few.
Hansi Flick will be looking to add more silverware to his cabinet this season – and the La Liga juggernauts will be difficult to beat. None of Atalanta, Kairat and Qarabag – who follow, respectively, in 23rd, 24th and 25th have to come up against the Spanish side.
Athletic Club, who were competing in Europe’s second-tier competition last season, settle for a rating of 91.0; the Spaniards are to face the likes of Dortmund, Atalanta and Arsenal in their opening eight games of the highly-anticipated tournament.
Eintracht Frankfurt will have to try and compete without the sharpshooting Hugo Ektike, who has joined Liverpool, a side they will play in the early stages of the competition. Alongside the Reds, they will lock horns with Barcelona and Galatasaray.
Erik ten Hag’s Bayer Leverkusen and Diego Simeone-led Atletico Madrid have similar fates, while Marseille and PSV Eindhoven, too, face difficult fixtures between now and the latter stages of the competition – that’s if they proceed, of course.
Diego Simeone
The reigning champions of the competition, PSG, have the second-hardest run of eight fixtures, according to Opta. Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen are all among those that will be looking to cause an upset against Les Parisiens.
You just have to feel sorry for Bayern Munich, don’t you? Chelsea, PSG and Arsenal are among the teams that Vincent Kompany’s outfit are to face before the knockout rounds. Despite their tough run-in, you’d expect to see the Bavarians do very well.
Champions League 2025/26 - 18 Hardest Draws
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