Arsenal face Real Madrid and Man Utd host Bayern as Champions League fixtures revealed

UEFA has released the complete league-phase fixture list for the 2026/27 Champions League, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa all learning their routes to the knockout rounds.

The opening round of matches runs from 8 to 10 September. Liverpool host Atletico Madrid at Anfield, Arsenal travel to Napoli, Manchester City make the trip to Porto and Manchester United return to the competition with a home game against Azerbaijani side Sabah FC. Aston Villa begin their campaign away at Club Brugge.

Matchday two, scheduled for 13 and 14 October, brings City’s first major test as they host reigning champions PSG. United travel to Atletico Madrid, Arsenal face Lille and Villa welcome Fenerbahce.

The third round, a week later, sees Arsenal fly to Bayern Munich for the first of two heavyweight encounters. United face a trip to Como, Liverpool and City are at home against Villarreal and AEK Athens respectively, while Villa take on Viking FK.

The halfway point arrives on 3 or 4 November. Villa’s standout fixture of the phase comes here as they visit Barcelona. United host AS Roma, while Liverpool, Arsenal and City are all on the road — at Fenerbahce, Slavia Praha and RB Leipzig.

Matchday five on 24 November features Arsenal against Borussia Dortmund, City versus Napoli and Villa’s trip to Galatasaray. Liverpool face Club Brugge the following day, with United away at Sporting CP.

The final fixtures before the winter break fall on 8 and 9 December and include some of the most anticipated games of the phase. Arsenal host Real Madrid, City travel to Barcelona and Villa take on PSG. United face Leipzig and Liverpool close out the matchday against Porto.

The competition resumes on 19 and 20 January. United’s biggest home game of the phase arrives as they host Bayern Munich, while Villa entertain Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool travel to Inter Milan, City visit Lens and Arsenal head to Real Betis.

The final league-phase round takes place on 27 January, with all games kicking off simultaneously at 8pm BST. Arsenal host Sabah, City welcome Sporting CP, United travel to Villarreal, Liverpool face Lens and Villa finish away at Slavia Praha.

The top eight sides in the league-phase table at the end of the eight matchdays will advance automatically to the round of 16.