Champions League Draw: PSG Face Barcelona, Man City and Aston Villa

The 2026-27 Champions League group stage draw took place on Thursday (Aug 27) in Monaco, setting up several blockbuster matchups early in the competition.

Two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will play eight group-stage games, hosting Barcelona, Roma, Galatasaray (Turkey), and Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) at home. Luis Enrique's side will make two trips to England to face Manchester City and Aston Villa. PSG had beaten both teams en route to their first Champions League title in 2025, and also defeated Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this month in Austria.

The French champions will also travel to Villarreal (Spain) and Como (Italy), the latter managed by Cesc Fabregas. Speaking before the draw, coach Luis Enrique quipped: “I can't say anything bad about the Champions League, but I won't watch the draw. I'll relax and go cycling, then we'll look at the opponents. But I'll sign up for the same result as the last two years.”

PSG are aiming to become European champions for a third consecutive year, a feat only Real Madrid achieved between 2016 and 2018 in the last five decades.

The first group-stage matches will be played from Tuesday, Sept 8 to Thursday, Sept 10, with the final fixtures scheduled for late January. UEFA is expected to release the full match schedule on Saturday.

Arsenal, last season's runners-up and Premier League champions, will host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Lille, and Sabah – the Azerbaijani club making their group-stage debut. The Gunners also face tough away trips to Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli, and Slavia Prague.

Fenerbahce return, Viking debut

Liverpool, under coach Andoni Iraola, will host Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal, and Lens at Anfield, while traveling to Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, and LASK – the Austrian side appearing in the group stage for the first time.

Manchester United, who were not in the top seed pot, have home games against Bayern, Roma, RB Leipzig, and Sabah, along with difficult away matches against Atletico, Sporting Lisbon, Villarreal, and Como.

Other standout fixtures include Manchester City traveling to Barcelona, and Real Madrid hosting Inter. Aston Villa, last season's Europa League winners, will visit Barcelona and welcome Dortmund at Villa Park. Unai Emery's side will also face Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce return to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2008-09 after overcoming Lyon in this week's playoff round.

Como and Sabah are the tournament's new names this year, while LASK earned their maiden group-stage berth with a dramatic comeback win over Celtic in the playoffs. Norwegian champions Viking also make their Champions League group-stage debut, with an exciting slate against Bayern, Atletico, Villa, and Napoli.

This is the third season of the new Champions League format, where 36 teams are placed in a single league table, with each side playing eight matches against eight different opponents. This season's final will be held at the Metropolitano in Madrid on June 5, 2027.