Bayern learn opponents for 2025/26 Champions League’s league phase

Bayern have learned their eight opponents for the league phase of the 2025/26 Champions League. Thursday evening’s draw in Monaco paired the Bundesliga champions with Chelsea, Club Brugge, Sporting Lisbon and Union Saint-Gilloise who they will host at the Allianz Arena. The four away games will be against holders Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven and Pafos.

UEFA expect to confirm all the dates and kick-off times on Saturday. Once those are announced, you will be able to make ticket requests for all home and away games.

Learn more about each opponent here…

Chelsea (H)

Bayern hosting Chelsea is a fixture that immediately evokes memories of the 2012 Champions League final in which FCB lost on penalties in front of their home crowd. The Bundesliga champions lead the head-to-head with three wins from five meetings. The most recent was in 2019/20 when Bayern won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and then 4-1 at the Allianz Arena in the round of 16 en route to winning their sixth European crown. Chelsea won the FIFA Club World Cup this summer and are competing in the Champions League for the 20th time. They qualified by finishing fourth in the Premier League last season, having also lifting the Conference League to become the first club to have won all three current UEFA competitions.

Paris Saint-Germain (A)

Bayern have a score to settle in Paris. Vincent Kompany’s team may have beaten the French champions 1-0 at home in last season’s league phase, but Luis Enrique’s side then knocked Bayern out in the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup this summer (2-0). The six-time European champions and current Champions League holders have met 14 times before, with FCB just edging things on eight wins to seven. PSG are in the Champions League for the 19th time and had previously reached the final just once before, losing 1-0 to Bayern in Lisbon in 2020.

Club Brugge (H)

There have been far fewer meetings with Brugge, with just two prior encounters back in the 2005/06 Champions League group stage. Bayern won 1-0 in Munich and later claimed a 1-1 draw in Belgium. Captained by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, they finished runners-up in Belgium’s Pro League last season to go into the third round of Champions League qualifying. After a 4-2 aggregate win against Red Bull Salzburg, the Belgians then brushed past Rangers of Scotland with a 9-1 victory over two legs to earn their place in the Champions League proper for the 12th time. Two familiar faces to German audiences are former Fortuna Düsseldorf forward Christos Tzolis and ex-Hannover man Nicolo Tresoldi.

Arsenal (A)

A trip to London’s Emirates Stadium is certainly a tough draw for Bayern. Mikel Arteta’s side is full of talent with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice. The Gunners strengthened further this summer with the signings of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Eberechi Eze, having finished as Premier League runners-up to Liverpool and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League against eventual winners PSG in 2024/25. However, Bayern enjoy a very good record against the North London club, winning eight out of 14 previous meetings (D3, L3). The sides last faced off in the 2023/24 Champions League quarter-finals, with Bayern progressing 3-2 on aggregate.

Sporting Lisbon (H)

Sporting won the league and cup double in Portugal last season and now get to come to Munich in the Champions League. Bayern have won three and drawn one of the four previous encounters with the Lisbon club. The most recent of those was back in the 2008/09 Champions League round of 16, when Bayern won 5-0 in the Portuguese capital and then 7-1 back at the Allianz Arena. However, there’s no underestimating Rui Manuel Borges’ team. Last season they reached the knockout play-offs of the Champions League, where they came up short against Borussia Dortmund after a 3-0 loss in Germany and goalless draw at home.

PSV Eindhoven (A)

Bayern’s trip to Eindhoven brings a quick reunion with Paul Wanner, who joined the Dutch champions this summer. Ivan Perisic is another ex-FCB man on the books for Peter Bosz’s side. Winning the Eredivisie title last season took PSV straight into Champions League proper for the 19th time, which is a Dutch record together with Ajax. They made it all the way to the round of 16 last term before defeat to Arsenal. Bayern have faced Eindhoven eight times before, with the most recent meeting coming in the 2016/17 Champions League group stage. FCB won both games to take their record to six victories, one draw and one loss.

Union Saint-Gilloise (H)

Bayern have been paired with a Champions League newcomer and completely new opponent in Saint-Gilloise. Hailing from the eponymous district of Brussels, they dominated Belgian football in the early 1900s, but this year’s title was their first since 1935 and saw them qualify for the Champions League for the first time ever. They caught the eye on the continental stage three years ago when they reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League before eventual elimination at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.

Pafos (A)

Pafos are another new face in the Champions League and only the third Cypriot club to appear in the competition after APOEL Nicosia and Anorthosis Famagusta. Juan Carlos Carcedo’s team had to come through three rounds of qualifying to get here, seeing off Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kyiv and Red Star Belgrade. The most famous player in their current squad is 38-year-old Brazilian defender David Luiz, who previously played for Chelsea and PSG. The club in its current form was only founded in 2014 and won its first major domestic silverware in 2024 with the Cypriot Cup. They followed that last season with the First Division title, having also reached the last 16 of the Conference League, where they lost to Djurgardens of Sweden. Bayern have positive memories of Cypriot opposition, claiming their two biggest European Cup victories against Anorthosis (10-0 in 1983) and Omonia Nicosia (9-0 in 1972).

Get reaction to the league phase’s draw here: