The schedule for Matchday 1 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League !

The group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the 2025/2026 season is set to kick off very soon, specifically next Tuesday, as the first matchday gets underway.

In the previous edition, Paris Saint-Germain claimed the title for the first time in their history, following a dominant win in the final against Inter Milan, with a scoreline of 5-0.

Since last season, UEFA has introduced a new format featuring 36 teams in a single league. Each club faces off against 8 different opponents based on predefined rankings.

Under this system, teams are ranked according to their total points. The top eight sides advance directly to the round of 16, while teams finishing from 9th to 24th place contest a playoff for a spot in the next round.

Group stage matchday dates

• Matchday 1: September 16-18
• Matchday 2: September 30 - October 1
• Matchday 3: October 21-22
• Matchday 4: November 4-5
• Matchday 5: November 25-26
• Matchday 6: December 9-10
• Matchday 7: January 20-21, 2026
• Matchday 8: January 28, 2026
  

First matchday fixtures

• Tuesday, September 16
  
  16:45: Athletic Bilbao × Arsenal
  16:45: Eindhoven × Union Saint-Gilloise
  19:00: Real Madrid × Marseille
  19:00: Juventus × Borussia Dortmund
  19:00: Benfica × Qarabağ
  19:00: Tottenham × Villarreal
  
• Wednesday, September 17
  
  16:45: Olympiakos × Pafos
  16:45: Slavia Prague × Budućnost
  19:00: Paris Saint-Germain × Atalanta
  19:00: Ajax × Inter Milan
  19:00: Bayern Munich × Chelsea
  19:00: Liverpool × Atlético Madrid
  
• Thursday, September 18
  
  16:45: Club Brugge × Monaco
  16:45: Copenhagen × Leverkusen
  19:00: Frankfurt × Galatasaray
  19:00: Sporting Lisbon × Kairat Almaty
  19:00: Manchester City × Napoli
  19:00: Newcastle United × Barcelona
  

Will Gouiri miss the highly anticipated Champions League clash against Real Madrid?

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.