SportsCatch
EN

Champions League 2026-27 kicks off with PSG, LOSC and Lens in contention

The 72nd edition of the Champions League begins this Tuesday with 36 clubs, including defending champions PSG, LOSC and RC Lens. The league phase spans three evenings, from September 8 to 10.

1 min read
Champions League 2026-27 kicks off with PSG, LOSC and Lens in contention
Share

Paris Saint-Germain, defending champions after their penalty shootout victory against Arsenal in the final on May 30 in Budapest, enter the 72nd edition of the Champions League on Wednesday, September 9. LOSC and RC Lens complete France’s representation in a league phase that opens from September 8 to 10.

This edition retains the format introduced in 2024: each club plays eight matches against eight different opponents, until January 27. The top eight in the overall standings advance directly to the round of 16, teams ranked ninth to twenty-fourth compete in a playoff, the rest are eliminated.

Matchday one features compelling fixtures. On Tuesday, Real Madrid host Inter Milan and FC Porto receive Manchester City; LOSC, for their part, host Real Betis. On Wednesday, Liverpool face Atlético Madrid, Napoli take on Arsenal, and PSG begin against Slovan Bratislava. On Thursday, Bayern Munich host Bodø/Glimt, while Lens travel to Prague to face Slavia. Each evening features six matches, two at 6:45 p.m. and four at 9:00 p.m.

The knockout phase runs from February 16 to June 5, 2027, with the final scheduled for the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid.

Share
{# Sitewide native fullscreen interstitial — our own bet-CTA card blown up to a takeover (replaces the SDK overlay). The shared card animations + countdown load once, AFTER the interstitial markup, so the countdown script's first tick sees this card's node too (the in-read card, in
above, already exists). One include covers both surfaces. #}