Arsenal Draw Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as City and Villa Both Get PSG

The 2026/27 Champions League league phase is set — 36 teams, eight games each, and a brutal opening draw for the holders.

By Naomi Osei · 27 Aug 2026 · 1 min read · United Kingdom edition

The UEFA Champions League trophy. Photo: KTo288, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Arsenal will face 15-time winners Real Madrid, along with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli, in the 2026/27 Champions League's 36-team league phase. Manchester City and Aston Villa were both drawn against holders Paris Saint-Germain.

Each club plays eight league-phase games — four home, four away — against different opponents, with no two clubs from the same country meeting more than twice combined across the whole draw. The top eight after eight rounds go straight into the round of 16; ninth to 24th enter a knockout play-off in February to fill the other eight spots; 25th to 36th are out entirely.

PSG's draw is the standout tough one: a home tie against Barcelona (the former club of PSG coach Luis Enrique), away to 2023 champions Manchester City, and away to Europa League holders Aston Villa — a genuine title defence gauntlet before the knockout rounds even start.

The first round of fixtures runs 8-10 September, with the league phase wrapping up on 27 January. Six months of group-stage-style football, but with every team playing a different schedule — no two clubs' routes through it look the same.