City discover eight opponents in 2025/26 Champions League league phase | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Real Madrid are amongst the sides City will face in the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League.

Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt, Galatasaray, Monaco and Villarreal complete the lineup of teams we’ll play in the first stage of this year’s competition, with the dates and times of the fixtures to be confirmed on Saturday.

The 2025/26 campaign will represent the second year of the new format, which pits all 36 teams into one league table.

It is also the 15th successive season in which we have taken part in Europe’s elite club competition.

As with last year, every side will play eight matches, with one home and one away tie against a club from each of the four seeded pots.

In an event held in Monaco on Thursday, City were drawn out of Pot 1 thanks to our coefficient gained in the competition over the last five years.

The teams we will play are as follows:

Borussia Dortmund (H)

Real Madrid (A)

Bayer Leverkusen (H)

Villarreal (A)

Napoli (H)

Bodo/Glimt (A)

Galatasaray (H)

Monaco (A)

Please note, this is the order in which the sides were drawn and not necessarily the order in which we will play the fixtures.

Fixture dates and times will be confirmed on Saturday.

WATCH: City's dramatic journey to becoming European champions

Familiar foes, new faces

As with every year, we will come up against some of the biggest and most historic names in world football in the Champions League.

We’ve got plenty of history against Real Madrid, having played the Spanish giants in each of the last four seasons.

Overall, we’ve played each other 14 times in the Champions League, with City winning four times and Real victorious on five occasions.

WATCH: Real Madrid 1-1 City: Champions League highlights

We’re also well used to playing Borussia Dortmund with six meetings in total. We last came up against them in the 2022/23 group stage.

Napoli were our first opponents in the Champions League back in 2011 and we then met again in 2017/18. It means an Etihad return for City legend Kevin De Bruyne, who is now a part of their squad.

WATCH: Watch: De Bruyne's Etihad farewell presentation in full

Villarreal were also in that group stage back in 2011/12, with the Clubs yet to face each other since.

Monaco were our opponents in the 2016/17 Round of 16 for a classic tie that ended 6-6 on aggregate, with the Ligue 1 side going through on away goals.

We’ll go up against Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray for the first time ever.

When are the matchdays?

Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026Matchday 8: 28 January 2026

Who is in the competition?

England: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, NewcastleAzerbaijan: QarabagBelgium: Union Saint-Gilloise, Club BruggeCyprus: PafosCzechia: Slavia PragueDenmark: FC CopenhagenFrance: Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, MonacoGermany: Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia DortmundGreece: OlympiacosItaly: Napoli, Inter, Atalanta, JuventusKazakhstan: Kairat AlmatyNetherlands: PSV, AjaxNorway: Bodo/GlimtPortugal: Sporting CP, BenficaSpain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club, VillarrealTurkey: Galatasaray