Real Madrid’s possible opponents in the 2025/26 Champions League league phase

“Die Meister. Die Besten. Les grandes équipes. The champions.” The anthem will ring out and once again Monaco becomes the center of European football. Today, Thursday 28 August 2025, at 12 p.m. ET, Real Madrid will learn its first eight opponents on the road to a desired 16th Champions League crown.

With the new format introduced last season, almost anything is possible for Xabi Alonso’s side. The only certainty is that, in this opening stage, Madrid will avoid the other four Spanish clubs. Beyond that, with 31 potential opponents, the combinations are virtually endless. One by one, balls will be drawn, before a computer randomly determines the matchups.

Madrid, currently top of UEFA’s ranking, will again be seeded. But unlike in the past, that no longer means avoiding the other teams in Pot 1. They are guaranteed to face two of the following seven: PSG, Manchester City, Bayern, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea and Dortmund. One of those will come to the Bernabéu, and Madrid will travel to the other’s stadium. The final spot in Pot 1 is Barcelona, though a Clásico cannot happen at this stage due to the country restriction.

In Pot 2, Alonso’s men avoid Atlético and Villarreal, but could meet Arsenal, Leverkusen, Benfica, Atalanta, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt or Club Brugge. Again, two rivals will come from this group – one home, one away.

From Pot 3, any of the nine teams are possible opponents: Tottenham, PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt and Marseille. Madrid will be paired with two of them as well.

And finally, Pot 4 – which includes Athletic – could pit the champions against Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Newcastle, Pafos or Kairat Almaty. Once more, one tie at the Bernabéu and one away.

The opponents will be announced this afternoon, but the schedule and match times won’t be announced until Friday evening or Saturday morning.

The new league-phase format means the top eight teams in the overall standings advance directly to the round of 16. Clubs finishing 9th to 24th go into a playoff round, while those from 25th to 36th are eliminated outright – with no safety net in the Europa League.

Champions League 2025-26 league-phase dates:

• Matchday 1: Sept 16-18
• Matchday 2: Sept 30-Oct 1
• Matchday 3: Oct 21-22
• Matchday 4: Nov 4-5
• Matchday 5: Nov 25-26
• Matchday 6: Dec 9-10
• Matchday 7: Jan 20-21, 2026
• Matchday 8: Jan 28, 2026

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