Manchester City learn 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase opponents | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City squad have now discovered their path through the newly-formed UEFA Champions League league phase.

With a mixture of heavyweight encounters and challenging away trips awaiting the Premier League giants, Guardiola and his City coaching staff will certainly have their work cut out to make it through to the knock-out phase of the competition.

Having navigated the early weeks of the domestic campaign, Manchester City can now set their sights on a European schedule that will demand consistency and adaptability against opponents from across the continent.

The draw has handed Pep Guardiola’s side a fascinating blend of traditional heavyweights and ambitious challengers, whilst also setting up an emotional reunion with Kevin De Bruyne, and setting up a busy and testing autumn for the Etihad Stadium outfit.

Now, as revealed, confirmed, and announced by UEFA on Thursday evening, Manchester City will face the following eight teams in their 2025/26 UEFA Champions League league phase campaign:

The headline clash is once again Manchester City’s meeting with Real Madrid, a fixture that has become one of the defining rivalries of modern European football. Pep Guardiola’s men will travel to the Santiago Bernabéu in what is expected to be a pivotal test of their credentials in the league phase.

Back on home soil, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen – who boast Claudio Echeverri as one of their loan talents from the Etihad Stadium this season – promise to bring Bundesliga flavour to the Etihad, with both sides carrying attacking intent and strong European pedigrees.

The clash with Napoli adds Italian steel to the home schedule and a chance to take on legendary former playmaker Kevin De Bruyne for the first time since his departure from City this summer, while Galatasaray will return to Manchester for what should be a fiery atmosphere between two passionate fanbases.

On the road, Manchester City’s trip to Villarreal will rekindle memories of tricky Spanish away nights, while a clash with AS Monaco evokes memories of past high-scoring Champions League classics.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the lot, however, will be the long trip north to face Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt, a side known for their intensity and hostile Arctic Circle conditions.

Manchester City will now begin preparations for their European campaign, with the aim of once again pushing deep into the latter stages of the competition while balancing their domestic ambitions.