Europe’s Big Draw Delivers Heavyweight Premier League Tests

Arsenal and City land headline fixtures

Arsenal’s league-phase schedule is built around two giant nights: a home tie against Real Madrid and a trip to Bayern Munich. Their other fixtures look more manageable on paper, with Dortmund, Lille, Napoli, Real Betis, Sabah and Slavia Prague completing the set.

Manchester City also received a demanding but glamorous draw, with PSG and Barcelona standing out as the marquee opponents. City will also face Sporting, Porto, Napoli, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens across the league phase.

For both clubs, the draw promises high-profile meetings from the start, with Arsenal’s reunion against Madrid and City’s clash with PSG likely to shape the early conversation around the competition.

United, Liverpool and Villa each face different kinds of pressure

Manchester United’s return to the competition brings a mixed route, combining tough home matches against Bayern, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah with away trips to Atlético Madrid, Sporting, Villarreal and Como. That gives them both a demanding test and a real chance to build momentum.

Liverpool’s fixture list is less intimidating overall, though it still includes a difficult away date at Inter, the side that knocked them out last season. Anfield will host Atlético Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens, while the road schedule also includes Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and Lask.

Aston Villa, back in the competition after a summer of change, were handed one of the toughest combinations. PSG and Barcelona are the standout headline names, while Dortmund, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, Viking and Slavia Prague round out their schedule.

Club	Notable home fixtures	Notable away fixtures
Arsenal	Real Madrid, Dortmund, Lille, Sabah	Bayern Munich, Napoli, Real Betis, Slavia Prague
Manchester City	PSG, Sporting, Napoli, AEK Athens	Barcelona, Porto, RB Leipzig, Lens
Manchester United	Bayern Munich, Roma, RB Leipzig, Sabah	Atlético Madrid, Sporting, Villarreal, Como
Liverpool	Atlético Madrid, Porto, Villarreal, Lens	Inter, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Lask
Aston Villa	PSG, Dortmund, Fenerbahce, Viking	Barcelona, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Slavia Prague

PSG chase history while the schedule takes shape

PSG, the defending champions, will again be the team everyone watches, with Barcelona, Roma, Galatasaray and Slovan Bratislava visiting Paris. Their away list is equally demanding, including trips to Villarreal, Como, Manchester City and Aston Villa as they go after a third straight title.

There is also a notable venue storyline away from the Premier League clubs, with Stamford Bridge set to host Shakhtar Donetsk’s home matches because the Ukrainian side cannot stage European fixtures in their own country. Real Madrid are among the visiting teams there, adding another layer of intrigue to an already crowded schedule.

The league phase begins on 8 and 9 September, and UEFA is expected to confirm the full set of match dates shortly after the draw.