We are three weeks into the domestic seasons, the first international weekend is looming and you know what that means…the 2025/26 Champions League is just around the corner.
And the excitement all started in Monaco last Thursday when the draw for the big league stage took place. If you read the article written by my SBOTOP colleague James, this time last year, you will recall his concern at the heavy workload the new format imposes on the biggest teams who have the busiest schedules.
But, in many ways, the 36 team league format worked well, with plenty at stake until the very last stage as clubs battled to win a qualification place or a play-off, and we saw some early casualties, notably Manchester City. The Champions League 2025 betting odds confidently predict that Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues will have learnt from their mistakes and go deep into this season’s competition, while 2025 champions Paris Saint-Germain must still be the team to beat.
The expanded competition means each team will play eight group league games rather than six and you can rest assured we’ll keep the Champions League 2025 updates coming as the action unfolds. But, in the meantime, let’s take a look at the biggest guns to see who they will face and pick out some mouth-watering match-ups.
Champions PSG face Barcelona, Real Madrid renew their relationship with Manchester City while English champions Liverpool will also take on Xabi Alonso’s Los Blancos.
With an array of stars including Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia PSG stormed to the 2025 Champions League title, smashing through the glass ceiling after dominating French football for over a decade. And the way they totally dismantled Inter Milan in the final the Parisiens look ready to become a major force in the Champions League for seasons to come.
And, after falling short in the Club World Championship, losing the final to Chelsea, PSG have a good chance to exert their authority again with a series of matches against some of Europe’s top sides. As well as facing Barcelona, Luis Enrique’s side will take on German champions Bayern Munich, Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur as well as Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon, who will be without their departed striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool have taken the lead at the top of the English table with three wins from three as the only team in England with a 100 per cent record, after beating Arsenal on Sunday thanks to a late goal from Dominik Szoboszlai, ending the Gunners’ 100 per cent record in the process. The Reds have the two Madrid giants to face in the Champions League, as they take on Alonso’s Real Madrid and Diego Simeone’s Atletico, both formidable opponents in Europe, and they also take on Inter Milan, runners up in both 2023 and 2025. I Nerazzurri watched Napoli win a second Scudetto in three campaigns last May and they have a new manager at the helm with Christian Chivu replacing the departed Simone Inzaghi.
La Liga champions Barcelona will give PSG a serious test and they also have the chance to put World Club Champions Chelsea back in their place; though Enzo Maresca’s Blues are full of confidence, second in the early Premier League table and with Cole Palmer back on form. As well as Barcelona, the Londoners have two other reigning domestic champions to take on in the shape of Bayern Munich and Napoli.
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern also play Arsenal and PSG but otherwise seem to have a fairly favourable draw, while Real Madrid have the two English heavyweights, Manchester City and Liverpool to play, along with Juventus and AS Monaco.
The Sky Blues also face Serie A champions Napoli, 2024 German champions Bayer Leverkusen and the highly fancied Borussia Dortmund in their batch of eight. After bowing out early last term, Guardiola’s men will be keen to put the record straight, but they haven’t made the best start to their 2025/26 Premier League campaign, with one win and a defeat leaving them in 13th place.
Arsenal have a good chance to get through to the knockout phase if they can compete with Bayern, while Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are the Gunners’ other big challenges. So that is a set of tantalising prospects; the best teams and the best players will be going head to head as they jostle for position in the early stage of the competition, with the big prize on offer next May. PSG are the team to beat but there are plenty of clubs well capable of picking up the European crown if they falter.
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