Opponents in focus: Four big names and three firsts | OneFootball

Everything was settled at the draw in Monaco. The eight home and away opponents are now known. UEFA will announce the exact dates of the matches on Saturday. Former global stars Kaka and Zlatan Ibrahimović were in attendance this Thursday to draw the opponents for the 36 participants.

There will be one match against each opponent – either at home or away. The BVB fans can look forward to home games against Inter Milan, Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Bodø/Glimt of Norway. The travel destinations are Manchester, London (Tottenham), Turin (Juventus) and Copenhagen. The result is an interesting mixture of high-calibre clashes and match-ups that have never taken place before.

The home opponents

Inter MilanThey are 20-time champions of Italy, three-time winners of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and three-time winners of the UEFA Cup: Inter Milan, who reached the final in 2025, are one of the very biggest clubs on the continent. BVB have faced Inter on six previous occasions (two victories, one draw and three defeats), most recently in the group phase in 2019/20. The Black & Yellows recorded a brilliant 3-2 win on home turf but had no chance in a 2-0 loss at the San Siro. The fans can look forward to a reunion with Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The 36-year-old is still lacing his boots.

VillarrealThe 2021 Europa League winners are taking part in the Champions League for the fifth time – and facing Borussia Dortmund for the first time. There have previously only been two friendlies against the club, who are called the “Submarino amarillo” (“Yellow submarine”) on account of their kits. They finished fifth in the league.

Bodø/GlimtAfter a 5-0 win and a 2-1 loss to Sturm Graz in the play-offs, Norway's champions in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 have qualified for the Champions League for the first time. But they have amassed so many points on the international stage in recent years that they made it into pot 3 among Europe's elite. Last season, the Scandinavians were only knocked out of the UEFA Europa League at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur.

Athletic BilbaoIt will be the third time that the eight-time Spanish champions (most recently in 1984) and 24-time (!) cup winners have played in the UEFA Champions League, after 1998 and 2014. The team spearheaded by superstar Nico Williams made it into the UEFA Europa League semi-finals (against Manchester United) last season. In the league, they finished fourth. In addition to Villarreal and Bodø/Glimt, Athletic Club are the third team BVB will face competitively for the first time, even though the Basques have been consistently in the top flight since 1928 and have made 216 international appearances.

Ticket info: The advance sale of tickets for the first home game will take place next Tuesday, 2 September. As always, Borussia Dortmund club members can purchase online via the Ticket Shop from 12:00 noon.

The away opponents

Manchester CityThe 2023 winners have consistently been involved in the Champions League since making their debut in 2011/12. The team of former Borussia duo Manuel Akanji and Erling Haaland lost out to Real Madrid in the round of 16 play-offs last season and also only finished in third place in the league, having claimed six out of a possible seven league titles between 2018 and 2024. BVB have visited the Etihad Stadium three times before and have always scored a goal, but have only come away with something once – in 2012 (1-1 draw, 2-1, 2-1 losses). The two teams last met in the group phase in 2022/23.

JuventusWith 36 official "Scudetti" wins and 15 Coppa Italia titles, the club are Italy's record champions and record cup winners. And they are one of only five clubs that have won the three “big” European trophies. Borussia Dortmund and Juventus previously faced each other in the 1993 UEFA Cup final (3-1 and 3-0 losses) and the 1997 Champions League final (3-1 win). In total, there have been 09 memorable encounters.

Tottenham HotspurThe English outfit were the top seeds in pot three. As winners of the 2025 UEFA Europa League, they are participating in the Champions League for the seventh time. The league performance by the eight-time FA Cup winners was disastrous: they only finished 17th. New coach Thomas Frank has led the team to two wins at the start of the league season, including a 2-0 victory at Manchester City. BVB won the first two direct clashes (and in 2016, they were the first German club ever to win at the old White Hart Lane), but they have since suffered four defeats in a row – most recently in the last 16 in the 2018/19 season (3-0 loss away, 1-0 defeat at home).

FC CopenhagenDenmark's champions (for the 16th time) were seeded as the strongest team in pot 4. Substitute Youssoufa Moukoko scored the decisive goal to make it 2-0 against FC Basel in the play-offs (first leg: 0-0) and secure FC Copenhagen their seventh participation in the UEFA Champions League (Danish record). The club have made it into the round of 16 on two occasions. BVB have previously faced FC Copenhagen four times (three wins and one draw). The draw came in their last meeting at Parken Stadium on 2 November 2022, when the two teams played out a 1-1 stalemate.Compiled by Boris Rupert