In its second year in a new format, Champions League enters this Tuesday (16) in the league phase, with 288 matches over the next five months, between 36 teams.
The first round already brings together some clashes between big clubs in the old continent.
On Wednesday (17), the current German champion Bayern Munich faces World Champion Chelsea at Allianz Arena in reissue of the 2012 final when the English team reached the first title.
On Thursday (18), it is the turn of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola and Haaland, to receive Napoli, current Italian champion, in a match that will mark the reunion of midfielder Kevin de Bruyne with the Citizens fans at Etihad Stadium.
Current champion, PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) receives Atalanta at Princes Park on Tuesday (16).
Despite the flawless campaign of the last edition, closed with the 5-0 defeat over Inter Milan, the Parisian team is not the favorite to get back to the cup, at least according to the projections of the supercomputer of the sports statistical company Opt Analyst.
Premier League’s champion and deputy, Liverpool, who make his debut against Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal, who measures forces with Athletic Bilbao, are pointed out as the favorites to stay with the ear.
With a few billion reais on seasoning spending for the season, Liverpool and London teams appear as Champions’ 2025/26 champions in 20.4% and 16% of the 10,000 supercomputer simulations, respectively.
Responsible for eliminating the duo from the dispute last season, PSG comes close behind, with 12.1% likelihood of becoming two-time champion. He is followed by Manchester City and Barcelona, with 8.4% each, and Chelsea with 7%.
In the new Championship format, the 36 teams classified to the League Phase —29 directly by campaigns in national and 7 preliminary leagues – face eight teams each, in round trip matches.
The clashes are defined via draw, with the teams divided into four pots, according to technical criteria. Each team faces two of each of the pots. Teams from the same country cannot face each other at this stage, and one team can only play against two of the same country.
The top eights classified at the end of the alloy phase – the end of January 28 – advance to the round of 16.
Those who are between 9th and 24th position in the table compete for a playoff for the remaining eight vacancies, between February 17 and 24.
The round of 16 are scheduled to take place between March 10 and 17, with the quarterfinals from April 7 to 14. The semifinals take place from April 28 to May 5.
The final is scheduled for May 30, in a single game at Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary. Eastern European country will host the Champions League for the first time.
On open TV, SBT broadcasts matches, and on closed TV, TNT and Space. The HBO Max streaming platform will also transmit.
In the league phase, PSG faces home Atalanta, Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Newcastle, and visits Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting and Athletic Bilbao.
The team under the command of Luis Enrique maintained much of the cast that won the triple crown last season – Champions League, French Championship and France Super Cup.
The main change was in the goal. With the contract close to the end and outside the coach, Gianluigi Donnarumma went to Manchester City, with PSG bringing Frenchman Lucas Chevalier to his place, taken from Lille for 40 million euros (R $ 251.5 million).
For the match against Atalanta, the team should not yet be able to count on the attack duo formed by Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, injured during France’s match against Ukraine by the European World Cup qualifiers earlier this month.
Even without the duo responsible for a third of the goals (51 of 168) last season, the team should have no difficulty overcoming the Italians at home. OPTA prognoses point out that PSG is winning in 62.1% of simulations.
Main threat to the two -time championship of the French, Liverpool and Arsenal spared no reinforcement.
In a season where English clubs hit the record of investments in the transfer window, with spending of around R $ 22 billion, the teams of Liverpool and London were the first and third in the list of the most spent, with R $ 3 billion and R $ 1.9 billion, respectively. Chelsea was the second, with $ 2 billion.
With the goal of reigning again in Europe after the last Champions title in the 2018/19 season, the current English champion shook the market by announcing the three most expensive signings in the window: Swedish center forward Alexander Isak, brought from Newcastle for $ 911.5 million; German midfielder Florian Wirtz, Leverkusen hired for R $ 786 million; and French striker Hugo Ekitiké, who arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt for $ 597 million.
In Anfield, Liverpool will host Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, PSV and Quarabag, and will play as a visitor against Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Olympique de Marseille and Galatasaray.
Championship deputy in the 2005/06 season and more than two decades without erecting the Premier League trophy – the last time it was in the 2003/04 season – coming from three straight vices, Arsenal spent 260 million euros ($ 1.6 billion) in just four reinforcements to try to get out of line: Spanish steering wheel Martín Zubimindi ($ 440 million), which was Real Sociedad; the English midfielder Eberechi Eze (R $ 435.7 million), coming from Crystal Palace; Swedish center forward Viktor Gyökeres (R $ 413.7 million), from Sporting; and the English right tip Noni Madueke ($ 352 million), from Chelsea.
Playing at Emirates Stadium in London, coach Mikel Arteta’s team will receive Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Olympiacos and Kairat, and will visit Inter Milan, Club Brugg, Slavia Prague and Athletic Bilbao.
First round clashes of the Champions League 2025/26 Champions League
Tuesday (16)
Athletic Club x Arsenal, às 13h45*
PSV X Union Saint-Gilloise, às 13h45
Juventus x Borussia Dortmund at 4 pm
Real Madrid X Olympic Marseille, at 4 p.m.
Beneficial x Qarabağ, at 16h
Tottenham x Villarreal, at 16h
Wednesday (17)
Olympiacos x Pafos at 1:45 pm
Slavia Praga X Bodø/Glimt, às 13h45
Ajax x Inter Milan, at 16h
Bayern Munich x Chelsea at 16h
Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid at 16h
Paris Saint-Germaain X Antlannta, from 16H
Thursday (18)
Club Brugg x Monaco, at 1:45 pm
Copenhagen x Bayern Leverkusen at 1:45 pm
Eintracht Frankfurt x Galatasaray, at 16h
Manchester City x Napoli at 16h
Newcastle x Barcelona, at 16h
Sporting x Kaiat, at 16h
*Brasília time
