After four rounds of qualifying, the UEFA Champions League is starting its second league phase. The opening round of action occurs this week in what is the competition’s standalone matchweek. There are no games in the UEFA Europa League nor UEFA Conference League, allowing for Europe’s premier club competition to take centre stage.
Ahead of the football, The Deck takes a look at each game that will take place across Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the UCL.
UEFA Champions League: Matchday 1
Arsenal, Real Look for Positive Start
For just the third time this millennium, PSV Eindhoven will meet Belgian opposition in Europe. Their maiden test will come in the form of Union Saint-Gilloise, who is making their debut at this stage of the Champions League. The opening matchday has not gone well for PSV in recent times. They have been defeated in each of their last four UCL matchday 1 games. Perhaps even more startling for them is the fact that Union has prevailed in both of their trips to the Netherlands in Europe, defeating Twente and Ajax in the Europa League last term.
The other early kickoff on Tuesday sees Athletic Club commence their third appearance in the UCL proper versus Arsenal. The side from the Basque region has a 3-4-5 record in the competition, having never gotten past the group phase in their other two showings. Arsenal, who reached the semifinals last term, has won their last five against Spanish teams in Europe. That includes a 5-1 defeat of Real Madrid on aggregate in last April’s quarterfinals. The Gunners went on a four-game winning streak on the road in their run to the last four.
Speaking of Real Madrid, they get their 30th group phase season underway on Tuesday night as they host Olympique Marseille. After losing a whopping six times in the competition last term, the joint most they have ever had, Real will look to start things off on the right foot versus a team they have beaten in all four previous meetings. After missing out on European football in 2024/25, Marseille is back in the UCL after three years away. Since their last matches against Real in the 2009/10 group stage, OM 3-0-4 versus Spanish clubs, including a 3-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the 2017/18 Europa League final.
Benfica faces off against Qarabağ in their match to kick off the league phase. The two-time European champions are involved in the UCL proper for the fifth season in a row, making the knockout stages in three out of their last four attempts. This will be their first-ever meeting with an Azeri team in Europe. For Qarabağ, their finest hour came at the expense of a Portuguese club, knocking out Sporting Braga in the Europa League knockout playoffs two years ago. They reached the round of 16 that season, their best-ever European performance.
Juventus and Borussia Dortmund will square off for the 11th time in what is perhaps Tuesday’s standout contest. It has been 11 years since the pair last faced off, where Juve came out on top. However, it has been 30 years since their only previous group phase meeting, with both teams winning their respective away games. The Bianconeri lost at home to RB Leipzig in the league phase last term. Dortmund, meanwhile, has won just once in their last seven trips to Italy, losing five times. Of course, their only UCL crown came at the expense of their opponents back in 1996/97.
Rounding out Tuesday’s matches is the Europa League holder Tottenham, who meets Villarreal. It has never been an easy ride against Spanish teams for Spurs, who has just two wins across 14 games. Their last success came eight years ago at this stage against Real, their only UCL win versus LaLiga teams. In a similar vein, Villarreal has struggled against clubs from England. Since beating Manchester United in the 2020/21 UEL showpiece, The Yellow Submarine has lost all four subsequent games versus Premier League opposition.
Defending Champions, Repeat Final Highlight Wednesday’s Action
Wednesday’s action will commence in Greece, as Olympiakos Piraeus ends a five-year hiatus from the Champions League proper as they host debutants Paphos. The Greek champion is 5-4-3 versus sides from Cyprus, winning just once in the last six meetings (1-2-3). They have failed to get past this stage of the UCL in each of their last five showings. For Paphos, they are enjoying a second-ever continental campaign. They are the third club from Cyprus – after APOEL and Anorthosis – to get this far in the UCL. They went unbeaten in the qualifiers, winning all three away matches.
The Czech and Norwegian champions meet in the former’s capital as Slavia Praha faces Bodø/Glimt. It is the third time Slavia will be involved in the UCL proper, winning just once (1-4-7). This will be their first time hosting a Norwegian team after drawing 2-2 at Viking in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup. Bodø is making their UCL bow after a convincing playoff round success over Sturm Graz. They are coming off their best-ever European campaign, making the semifinals of last season’s Europa League. With that said, the Norwegians have failed to win any of their last seven away games, losing their last five (0-1-6).
Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain commences their Champions League season by welcoming Atalanta. The 13-time Ligue 1 winner won last year’s final over another Italian side, outclassing Internazionale 5-0. That was their seventh victory over Serie A sides in Europe, and will look to make it eight on Wednesday. The Bergamaschi are in the UCL proper for the second year in a row, falling at the knockout round playoffs to Club Brugge last February. Their only defeat across five European contests versus French clubs came against PSG back in the 2020/21 quarterfinals.
The pick for tie of the round comes from Germany, as Bayern Munich takes on Chelsea. Only Real and Barcelona have more appearances in the UCL proper than Bayern’s 29. The Bundesliga giants, who won their 35th top flight title last campaign, have won four of their last five home games against Premier League sides (4-1-0). Winning both the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup within the last few months, Chelsea will be quite confident going into tie. Their first UCL glory came at the expense of the Bavarians in 2011/12.
Liverpool, who finished top of last term’s inaugural league phase, hosts Atlético Madrid. Two of the Reds’ seven wins at this stage of the 2024/25 tournament came versus LaLiga sides. They also won both of their group stage meetings with Atleti four years ago, outscoring them 5-2. Los Rojiblancos rattled off five consecutive wins to claim a top eight finish last fall, only to lose to their local rivals Real Madrid on penalties in the last 16. Since knocking out Liverpool in the 2019/20 edition, they have just one win in their last eight versus Premier League teams (1-2-5).
Another high-profile clash pits together Ajax and Internazionale in the Dutch capital. The Amsterdammers have failed to win in their last seven against Italian teams (0-2-5). They have lost at the round of 16 in the Conference League then Europa League in their last two European forays. For Inter, they lost a second UCL final in three years last May. En route to last season’s showpiece, they won both legs against Feyenoord in the last 16. Their only defeat in the European Cup/Champions League against a Dutch team came in the 1971/72 final to the side they face on Wednesday.
Napoli, Barcelona Head to England for Intriguing Matchups
Back in the UCL for the seventh time in eight years, Club Brugge faces AS Monaco in one of the early kickoffs. Since beating Les Monegasques in their last meeting back in 2018, Club has failed to defeat a Ligue 1 opponent. All four subsequent matches came against PSG, where they lost three of them. It is a similar story for Monaco against Belgian sides, failing in their last four attempts (0-2-2). They have not successfully negotiated a UCL group phase since 2016/17, when they reached the final four.
FC København has Bayer Leverkusen to open their seventh Champions League group stage/league phase foray. The Danes defeated German opposition for the first time last February in the UECL. Their 3-1 victory over FC Heidenheim allowed them to advance before losing to eventual winners Chelsea. FCK also managed to get past this stage in their last UCL representation two years ago. Leverkusen beat their opponents 7-2 on aggregate in the playoff round 11 years ago. Die Werkself won just once in the road last term, losing their last three.
Manchester City welcomes Napoli in the standout match on Thursday night. The Cityzens failed to score in either match against Italian teams last term in a draw against Inter and a defeat at Juventus. They ended a seven-year unbeaten run at home in the knockout playoffs last February, losing to Real. Napoli was not in Europe last season for the first time in a decade and a half. That helped them clinched their fourth Scudetto, pipping Inter by a point. They have made it past this round of the Champions League in each of their last three appearances, reaching the quarterfinals in 2022/23.
Also in the late slot on Thursday is a clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray. The Germans are back in the UCL after a season in each of the UEL and UECL. They reached the round of 16 last time out before losing to Napoli over two legs. This is a repeat matchup from the 1982/83 UEFA Cup second round, where Galatasaray prevailed 1-0 on aggregate. That second leg success is one of Gala’s seven victories against Bundesliga teams. Is has not been smooth-sailing in recent times, however, as the Istanbul-based outfit has failed to win their last six against German sides (0-1-5).
Sporting CP and Kairat Almaty go at it in what is one of the longest away trips in the competition this term. Eight seasons on from knocking out Astana in the UEL last 32, Sporting will against face a Kazakh club. They are on a six-game winless run in the UCL, losing to Borussia Dortmund in the knockout playoffs last winter. They will be in it tough against a Kairat side who kept five clean sheets in qualifying this summer. This is just their second-ever group phase appearance, having also qualified for the Conference League proper four years ago.
Ending this preview is a battle between Newcastle and Barcelona – the fifth time the two will meet. The Magpies won their maiden meeting back in 1997, but has lost the other three. Two years on from their most recent UCL showing, where they finished bottom of their section, Newcastle will be wanting to get past a group phase for the first time in 13 years. They will not have it easy against this Barca side though. The LaLiga champion scored 43 times in the Champions League last season, more than any other club. They have not faced an English club in the competition since 2018/19.