Scratch out your Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Champions League football is nearly upon us once more.
Paris Saint-Germain are set to defend their European crown after winning last season’s competition for the first time in their history, as they clinched the trophy with a record 5-0 win over Inter in the Munich final.
Six Premier League clubs are in this season’s 36-team league phase; Newcastle’s qualification secured through a fifth-placed Premier League finish last season with England winning the coefficient race, while Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester United in the Europa League final to secure their spot.
The league phase draw was made on Friday, and dates confirmed on Saturday — setting up some intriguing battles across eight matchweeks.
Liverpool
Analysis from Liverpool and Burnley correspondent Andrew Jones
It felt like fate that Real Madrid and Trent Alexander-Arnold would visit Anfield and that’s the eye-catching part of Liverpool’s Champions League draw.
Overall, they should be relatively happy. Of their three toughest fixtures against Madrid, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid, two of those three games are at home (the two Spanish sides).
The rest all feel more than winnable. They have avoided the travel of a trip to Qarabag with the Azerbaijan outfit travelling to Anfield and while there are some tough away ties, it should give Arne Slot’s side ample chance of finishing in the top eight and avoiding the play-off round.
League phase fixtures
September 17: Atletico Madrid (H) – 8pm
September 30: Galatasaray (A) – 8pm
October 22: Eintracht Frankfurt (A) – 8pm
November 4: Real Madrid (H) – 8pm
November 26: PSV Eindhoven (H) – 8pm
December 9: Inter (A) – 8pm
January 21: Marseille (A) – 8pm
January 28: Qarabag (H) – 8pm
Arsenal
Analysis from Arsenal correspondent James McNicholas
Arsenal begin their Champions League campaign with a trip to Athletic Club and Bilbao — a return to the Basque Country for the likes of Mikel Arteta, Martin Zubimendi and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The fixture list throws up some intriguing double headers. In January, Arsenal face a trip to the San Siro to face Inter Milan, before a home game against Manchester United.
The toughest period falls in November, with Premier League fixtures versus Tottenham (H) and Chelsea (A) sandwiching a home tie against Bayern Munich. That week will provide a stern test for Arteta’s men — but that kind of challenging schedule is precisely why they’ve invested so heavily to add depth to the squad.
League phase fixtures
September 16: Athletic Club (A) – 5:45pm
October 1: Olympiacos (H) – 8pm
October 21: Atletico Madrid (H) – 8pm
November 4: Slavia Prague (A) – 5:45pm
November 26: Bayern Munich (H) – 8pm
December 10: Club Brugge (A) – 8pm
January 20: Inter (A) – 8pm
January 28: Kairat Almaty (H) – 8pm
Manchester City
Manchester City, 2023 winners, suffered a disappointing exit in the play-offs of last season’s iteration. In a trophyless season for Pep Guardiola’s side, they will be looking to make amends in Europe.
But their fixtures are certainly tricky, none more so than facing Antonio Conte’s Italian champions first up.
Trips to the Bernabeu have become all-too-familiar for City in recent years, and that was the venue at which their exit was sealed last year.
And a trip north of the Arctic Circle to meet Bodo/Glimt serves up its own challenges, as demonstrated in the Europa League last season.
League phase fixtures
September 18: Napoli (H) – 8pm
October 1: Monaco (A) – 8pm
October 21: Villarreal (A) – 8pm
November 5: Borussia Dortmund (H) – 8pm
November 25: Bayer Leverkusen (H) – 8pm
December 10: Real Madrid (A) – 8pm
January 20: Bodo/Glimt (A) – 5:45pm
January 28: Galatasaray (H) – 8pm
Chelsea
Analysis from Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson
Football just has a way of helping a story write itself. Chelsea’s opening fixture of the Champions League campaign is at Bayern Munich on September 17, which means an instant reunion with striker Nicolas Jackson.
Should his loan move to Bayern Munich be completed as expected, Jackson will be eligible to face his parent club. Unlike the Premier League, there are no rules in place which prevent a loan player from playing against the side that owns them. You can be sure Jackson will be keen to prove a point that night.
Fans will have to wait until November 25 for the glamour home contest versus Barcelona. They will certainly hope to have qualification wrapped up before going to Napoli in their last fixture on January 28.
League phase fixtures
September 17: Bayern Munich (A) – 8pm
September 30: Benfica (H) – 8pm
October 22: Ajax (H) – 8pm
November 5: Qarabag (A) – 5:45pm
November 25: Barcelona (H) – 8pm
December 9: Atalanta (A) – 8pm
January 21: Pafos (H) – 8pm
January 28: Napoli (A) – 8pm
Newcastle
Analysis from Newcastle correspondent Chris Waugh
The tie that Newcastle fans were eagerly anticipating is less than three weeks away. Barcelona, La Liga champions, return to Tyneside for what promises to deliver another spectacular atmosphere.
Tino Asprilla and that iconic hat-trick in 1997 are etched into the memory, while in 2003 Sir Bobby Robson’s side lost 2-0 against the Catalans at St James’ Park. Eddie Howe’s team will hope that they can shock Barcelona early, before Hansi Flick’s side really find their consistency.
Newcastle’s home fixtures are actually frontloaded, with three of their first four on Tyneside, and they perhaps need to start quickly (maybe the Barcelona clash aside). Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels, Belgium, is the only away trip during the first half of their league-phase schedule, and as a fellow Pot Four team, it is the most winnable of their fixtures on the road.
Back-to-back trips to Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen in late-November and mid-December will excite supporters, but provide stern tests, especially given the latter comes immediately before Newcastle face Sunderland and the Stadium of Light in the Wear-Tyne derby.
A return to the Parc des Princes on the final matchday is mouth-watering and comes during a brutal run of fixtures, with Newcastle hosting PSV Eindhoven and Aston Villa, before travelling to take on PSG and Liverpool. Newcastle will not want to have to get a positive result to progress at the home of the defending European champions, even if they will be targeting revenge for the controversial VAR penalty award against Tino Livramento two years ago.
This is where Newcastle want to be, though, and they will relish having so many huge games to navigate.
League phase fixtures
September 18: Barcelona (H) – 8pm
October 1: Union SG (A) – 5.45pm
October 21: Benfica (H) – 8pm
November 5: Athletic Club (H) – 8pm
November 25: Olympique Marseille (A) – 8pm
December 10: Bayer Leverkusen (A) – 8pm
January 21: PSV Eindhoven (H) – 8pm
January 28: Paris Saint-Germain (A) – 8pm
Tottenham
Analysis from Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris
The highlight of Tottenham’s Champions League fixtures is their away trip to Paris Saint-Germain. It lands at the end of November which is shaping up to be a defining period of their season.
Spurs face three tricky home games at the start of the month against Chelsea, FC Copenhagen (FCK) and Manchester United before the international break. Then they face north London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium four days before PSG.
Currently, they are due to face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt on September 30 around 48 hours after hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers. Their fixture against Wolves will surely be brought forward.
Spurs end the league phase in January with two games against German opposition in Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt. Hopefully, their progress to the next round of competition will be secured by the time they return to Frankfurt, who they beat in the quarter-finals of last season’s Europa League, on January 28 as they host Manchester City three days later.
League phase fixtures
September 16: Villarreal (H) – 8pm
September 30: Bodo/Glimt (A) – 8pm
October 22: AS Monaco (A) – 8pm
November 4: FC Copenhagen (H) – 8pm
November 26: Paris Saint-Germain (A) – 8pm
December 9: Slavia Prague (H) – 8pm
January 20: Borussia Dortmund (H) – 8pm
January 28: Eintracht Frankfurt (A) – 8pm
Real Madrid
Analysis from Real Madrid correspondent Mario Cortegana
It was clear from the outset that this was not a favourable draw for Madrid, having to face very strong teams from each pot and difficult away trips.
Almost each match will have something special and intriguing about it, starting with the visit of Marseille, a fitting opponent in light of Dani Ceballos’ failed transfer attempt this week. The trip to play Kairat Almaty comes just days after the Madrid derby, a fixture seemingly brimming with storylines, with Xabi Alonso’s side facing a 20+ hour round trip to and from Kazakhstan.
Dean Huijsen, signed from Bournemouth in May, will be reunited with Juventus, the team he chose over Madrid when he was a teenager, and Alexander-Arnold will return to Liverpool, his home for 20 years years: how will he be received?
Of course, it is also worth noting Manchester City’s return to the Santiago Bernabéu, with both giants facing each other 14 times since 2012 and in every season since 2021. It was in that same stadium and against that same rival that Kylian Mbappé had his first big night as a Madrid player back in February, with an impressive hat-trick. There will also surely be a re-hashing of the news linking Rodrygo Goes and Guardiola’s side this summer, with the coach a well-known admirer of the Brazilian.
The league phase will end in Lisbon, a very important city for Madrid and for left-back Alvaro Carreras. In 2014, La Décima Champions League was won at Da Luz, against arch-rivals Atlético Madrid in a nail-biting finish. Carreras shone there last season, leading to his signing this summer for €50 million; not bad for a former youth player.
League phase fixtures in full
September 16: Marseille (H) – 8pm
September 30: Kairat Almaty (A) – 5:45pm
October 22: Juventus (H) – 8pm
November 4: Liverpool (A) – 8pm
November 26: Olympiacos (A) – 8pm
December 10: Manchester City (H) – 8pm
January 20: Monaco (H) – 8pm
January 28: Benfica (A) – 8pm
Barcelona
The La Liga champions was sucker punched by Inter in extra-time in last year’s semi-final, meaning their wait to win the trophy extended to a decade, having last done so under Luis Enrique in 2015.
The Spanish coach again led his side to lifting the trophy, but it was instead PSG, with Barcelona set to face their former manager early on in the league phase campaign.
Barca may view their final two fixtures favourably, but have to come through some tough ties in the interim, not least two trips to England to face Newcastle and Chelsea.
League phase fixtures in full
September 18: Newcastle (A) – 8pm
October 1: PSG (H) – 8pm
October 21: Olympiacos (H) – 5:45pm
November 5: Club Brugge (A) – 8pm
November 25: Chelsea (A) – 8pm
December 9: Eintracht Frankfurt (H) – 8pm
January 21: Slavia Prague (A) – 8pm
January 28: FC Copenhagen (H) – 8pm
(Top photo: VALENTIN FLAURAUD/AFP via Getty Images)
