Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain immediately face a tough challenge in the 2026/27 Champions League group stage. Les Parisiens will face Barcelona and Manchester City.
The draw for the 2026/27 Champions League group stage was held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
The draw was led by UEFA Secretary General Giorgio Marchetti, along with two football legends, David Villa and Thierry Henry. The 36 teams were divided into four pots based on their UEFA club coefficient rankings.
Defending champions PSG were placed in Pot 1 alongside Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.
The draw results indicate PSG will host Barcelona in a league match. Les Parisiens also have an away match against Manchester City.
In addition to these two giants, PSG will face Aston Villa, Villarreal, AS Roma, Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava, and Como.
The match against Manchester City is sure to be one of the most anticipated matches. The Citizens, also a top-seeded team, will host PSG at the Etihad Stadium.
City will not only face PSG; they will also face Barcelona in the league. Thus, the path of these three elite clubs is filled with big matches from the start of the competition.
Barcelona itself will travel to the headquarters of PSG and Manchester City. The Blaugrana also face Aston Villa, Sporting CP, Galatasaray, Feyenoord, Como, and Sabah.
The club with the most Champions League trophies, Real Madrid, immediately faces a tough test. Los Blancos will face Inter Milan, Arsenal, and AS Roma, in addition to PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig, LASK, Shakhtar Donetsk, and AEK Athens.
English league champions Arsenal also face a number of strong opponents. The Gunners will face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Napoli. Lille, Real Betis, Slavia Prague, and Sabah also face Arsenal in the league phase.
Manchester United, returning to the Champions League, also immediately faces tough matches. The Red Devils will face Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, AS Roma, and RB Leipzig. They will also face Sporting CP, Villarreal, Como, and Sabah.
This season's Champions League format means each club plays eight matches in the league phase. The top eight teams in the standings will automatically qualify for the round of 16.
Meanwhile, teams finishing in positions 9-24 must enter a home-and-away playoff to compete for the eight remaining spots in the round of 16. Teams finishing in positions 25-36 are eliminated immediately.
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