Headline: UEFA Champions League Unveils Schedule for 2026/27 Season
The full schedule of league-phase fixtures for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League has been unveiled, revealing the paths that Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Aston Villa, will take towards potential knockout round appearances.
The opening round of matches is set for September 8 to 10, with Aston Villa leading the charge as they face Club Brugge away at 5:45 PM BST.
On Matchday one, Manchester City will travel to Porto, while Liverpool will host Atletico Madrid. Additionally, Arsenal is set to compete against Napoli, and Manchester United will kick off their campaign with a home game against Azerbaijani side Sabah FC.
The second round of fixtures will take place on October 13 and 14, featuring Manchester City hosting last year’s champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on Wednesday. Arsenal will face Lille, Liverpool will confront LASK, and Manchester United will travel to Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile, Aston Villa will host Fenerbahce.
Just a week following that, Matchday three will see Arsenal visit Bayern Munich. Liverpool and Manchester City will both have home matches against Villarreal and AEK Athens, respectively, while Manchester United will take a trip to Como and Aston Villa will welcome Viking FK.
The halfway mark in the league phase arrives on November 3 or 4, featuring Aston Villa’s significant match against Barcelona. Manchester United will play at home against AS Roma, while Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City will all play away—against Fenerbahce, Slavia Praha, and RB Leipzig, respectively.
On November 24, Matchday five will witness Arsenal taking on Borussia Dortmund, while Manchester City will compete against Napoli. Aston Villa will have an interesting away trip to Galatasaray. The following day, Liverpool will meet Club Brugge, while Manchester United will travel to face Sporting CP.
The final matchday of the year is scheduled for December 8 and 9, highlighted by notable games for English clubs: Arsenal will host Real Madrid, Manchester City will face Barcelona, and Aston Villa will meet PSG. Manchester United will match up against Leipzig, and Liverpool will finish the year against Porto.
With no matches planned during the winter breaks across Europe, the competition will resume with the penultimate matchday on January 19 and 20. During this week, Manchester United will host Bayern Munich, while Aston Villa will welcome Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool will be away to Inter Milan, and City and Arsenal will travel to Lens and Real Betis, respectively.
As the league phase concludes on January 27, all final matches will commence at 8 PM BST. Arsenal will host Sabah in what is expected to be a straightforward finish to their campaign. Manchester City will take on Sporting CP, while Manchester United will be away at Villarreal. Liverpool will meet Lens, and Aston Villa will conclude their campaign at Slavia Praha.
Teams that finish in the top eight of the league-phase table will automatically qualify for the round of 16. Clubs ranking 9th to 24th will compete in a knockout round play-off, scheduled for February 16/17 and 23/24.
The round of 16 fixtures are set for March 9/10 and 16/17, followed by the quarter-finals on April 6/7 and 13/14. The semi-finals are planned for April 27/28 and May 4/5, with the final to be held at Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium on June 5, 2027.
The full schedule of league-phase fixtures for the 2026/27 Uefa Champions League has been released, with Premier League clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa finding out their routes to the knockout rounds.
The first round of fixtures takes place between 8 and 10 September, with Aston Villa one of the sides kicking off the new campaign as they face Club Brugge away at 5.45pm BST.
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Matchday one sees Man City travel to Porto, while Liverpool host Atletico Madrid, Arsenal take on Napoli and Man Utd return to the competition with a home fixture against Azerbaijani side Sabah FC.
Round two takes place across 13 and 14 October, with City hosting holders PSG in the pick of the games on the Wednesday. Arsenal are up against Lille, while Liverpool take on LASK, Man Utd travel to Atletico Madrid and Villa host Fenerbahce.
Matchday three is held just a week later, with Arsenal travelling to Bayern Munich in the first of two huge games for the Gunners. Liverpool and City are both at home against Villarreal and AEK Athens respectively, while Man Utd face a trip to Como and Villa take on Viking FK.
The half-way point in the league phase comes on 3 or 4 November, with Villa facing their biggest game as they travel to Barcelona. Man Utd are at home to AS Roma, while Liverpool, Arsenal and City are all away – at Fenerbahce, Slavia Praha and RB Leipzig respectively.
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Arsenal face Borussia Dortmund in matchday five on 24 November, with City battling Napoli and Villa taking an intriguing trip to Galatasaray. Liverpool take on Club Brugge the next day, with Man Utd also on the road against Sporting CP.
The final matchday of the year takes place across 8 and 9 December, with a few huge games for English sides as Arsenal host Real Madrid, City travel to Barcelona and Villa take on PSG. Man Utd are up against Leipzig, and Liverpool round off the matchday against Porto.
There are no fixtures over the various winter breaks across Europe, so the competition resumes with the penultimate matchday on 19/20 January. This week brings Man Utd’s biggest game as they host Bayern Munich, and it’s a difficult week for Villa too, with Unai Emery’s side at home to Borussia Dortmund. Elsewhere, Liverpool are away to Inter Milan, with City and Arsenal away to Lens and Real Betis.
And the final round of fixtures in the league phase takes place just a week later, with each of the final games kicking off at 8pm BST on 27 January. Arsenal host Sabah in what should be a straightforward end to the campaign. Man City host Sporting CP, Man Utd are away at Villarreal, Liverpool take on Lens and Villa finish their campaign away to Slavia Praha.
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The teams who finish in the top eight of the league phase table will automatically qualify for the round of 16, with those in 9th-24th will face off in a knockout round play-off, which takes place across February 16/17 and 23/24.
The round of 16 fixtures are set for March 9/10 and 16/17, with the quarter-finals across April 6/7 and 13/14. The semi-finals will take place on April 27/28 and May 4/5, with the final scheduled for Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium on 5 June 2027.
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