Arsenal Prepare for Challenging Champions League Matches Amidst Leading Contenders
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Arsenal-Madrid, PSG-Barça highlight UCL draw Paris Saint-Germain have been handed a tough start to the defense of the Champions League trophy, with the visit of coach Luis Enrique's former side Barcelona as well as trips to 2023 winners Manchester City and Europa League winners Aston Villa.
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NDTV SportsUEFA Champions League Draw: PSG Take On Barcelona; Arsenal Face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich UEFA Champions League draw
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Arsenal face mouthwatering assignments against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as they bid to go one better than last season’s agonising near miss and win a first Champions League title.
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Sky SportsThursday 27 August 2026 18:19, UK Last season's European finalists Arsenal will play Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in this year's Champions League league phase.
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Aston Villa: PSG (home), Barcelona (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Club Brugge (away), Fenerbahce (home), Galatasaray (away), Viking (home), Slavia Prague (away)
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Sky SportsAston Villa: Barcelona (A), PSG (H), Borussia Dortmund (H), Club Brugge (A), Fenerbahce (H), Galatasaray (A), Viking (H), Slavia Prague (A)
The Guardian SportAston Villa, decimated in recent weeks by the departures of key players, will hope to have strengthened sufficiently for a home tie with PSG and a visit to Barcelona. They will be heartened by a stirring performance in their recent Super Cup defeat to Luis Enrique’s side in Salzburg. Borussia Dortmund, Fenerbahce and the Norwegian new boys Viking Stavanger will also visit Villa Park. Unai Emery will also take his team to Club Brugge, Galatasaray and Slavia Prague.
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Man City: PSG (H), Barcelona (A), Sporting CP (H) Porto (A), Napoli (H), RB Leipzig (A), AEK Athens (H), Lens (A)
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BBC SportManchester City: PSG (home), Barcelona (away), Sporting Club (home), Porto (away), Napoli (home), Leipzig (away), AEK Athens (home), Lens (away)
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Man Utd: Atletico Madrid (A), Bayern Munich (H), Roma (H), Sporting CP (A), RB Leipzig (H), Villarreal (A), Sabah (H), Como (A)
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BBC SportManchester United: Bayern Munich (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Roma (home), Sporting Club (away), Leipzig (home), Villarreal (away), Sabah (home), Como (away)
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The first league-phase matches will be played on Tuesday, 8 September and the last round of games will take place on 27 January 2027, with the exact schedule to be released on Saturday.
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Sky SportsWhen do fixtures begin? The first round of games will be played September 8-10, with the first six rounds taking place through to December. The league phase resumes in January with the eighth and final round on Jan 27.
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Mikel Arteta's men, who were beaten by PSG on penalties in the final last season, will face Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille, Napoli, Azerbaijan champions Sabah and Slavia Prague as well.
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The Guardian SportMikel Arteta’s side were pipped on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain in the final three months ago and will be expected to cruise through this season’s league phase. The bulk of their draw appears kind but they are tasked with a visit to the Allianz Arena to play Bayern, who they beat 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium last November, and host Real, who are once again under the charge of José Mourinho. Two seasons ago, Arsenal beat the Spanish giants 3-0 at home in a quarter-final first leg, Declan Rice scoring two memorable free-kicks.
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Arsenal will also welcome Borussia Dortmund, Lille and the Azerbaijani debutants Sabah to north London. Their other away fixtures involve trips to Napoli, Slavia Prague and a reunion with their ex-player Hector Bellerin at Real Betis.
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BBC SportArsenal: Real Madrid (home), Bayern Munich (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Real Betis (away), Lille (home), Napoli (away), Sabah (home), Slavia Prague (away)
3 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Sky Sports Arsenal will play both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the league phase of this season's Champions League; Liverpool will travel to Inter Milan, while both Man City and Aston Villa will host holders PSG; the first round of games will be played September 8-10
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02 BBC Sport Published European champions Paris St-Germain will face Premier League duo Manchester City and Aston Villa as well as five-time winners Barcelona in the league phase of this season's Champions League.
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03 The Guardian Sport Manchester City will swiftly renew acquaintances with Rodri when they visit Barcelona during Enzo Maresca’s first Champions League campaign in charge. They will greet Kevin De Bruyne and Napoli at the Etihad Stadium, just as they did last season in cruising to a 2-0 win. Their other home ties bring an enticing meeting with the reigning champions PSG, a tie against Sporting and a visit by AEK Athens. Trips to Porto, RB Leipzig and Lens will round off their schedule.
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Sources (5)
- ndtv-sports
- bbc-sport
- espn
- skysports
- guardian-sport