Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray discover European rivals

Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray have learned their opponents for the 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League season following the draw held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Fenerbahçe were represented at the draw by board member Mehmet Selim Kosif and football director Oğuz Çetin.

Fenerbahçe’s Champions League opponents

The Istanbul club were drawn against Atletico Madrid of Spain, Liverpool and Aston Villa of England, Roma of Italy, Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine, Villarreal of Spain, Slavia Prague of the Czech Republic and LASK of Austria.

Fenerbahçe will host Liverpool, Roma, Villarreal and Slavia Prague in Istanbul, while they will travel to face Atletico Madrid, Aston Villa, Shakhtar Donetsk and LASK.

Galatasaray’s Champions League opponents

Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek and board members Eray Yazgan and Abdullah Kavukcu attended the draw.

Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Hacıosmanoğlu was also present.

Galatasaray were drawn against Barcelona of Spain, Paris Saint-Germain of France, Aston Villa of England, Sporting of Portugal, Feyenoord of the Netherlands, Lille of France, Stuttgart of Germany and AEK of Greece.

Galatasaray will host Barcelona, Aston Villa, Feyenoord and Stuttgart, while they will face Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting, Lille and AEK away from home.

36 teams to compete

A total of 36 teams will compete in the league phase of the Champions League.

This season’s participants are Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Manchester United from England; Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis and Villarreal from Spain; Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig and Stuttgart from Germany; Inter, Roma, Napoli and Como from Italy; PSG, Lille and Lens from France; Porto and Sporting from Portugal; PSV and Feyenoord from the Netherlands; Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray from Türkiye; Bodo/Glimt and Viking from Norway; AEK from Greece; Slavia Prague from the Czech Republic; Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia; Club Brugge from Belgium; Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine; LASK from Austria; and Sabah from Azerbaijan.

League format

Each team will play eight matches in the Champions League league phase, four at home and four away.

After all league-phase matches have been completed, the top eight teams will qualify directly for the round of 16.

The 16 teams finishing between ninth and 24th will compete in two-legged play-offs for places in the round of 16.

Teams finishing outside the top 24 will be eliminated from the competition.

The full fixture schedule is expected to be announced by Saturday, August 29. The opening matches will take place from September 8-10, while the league phase will conclude on January 27, 2027.

The Champions League final will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain, on June 5, 2027.

Match dates

The Champions League schedule is as follows:

Matchday 1: September 8-10
Matchday 2: October 13-14
Matchday 3: October 20-21
Matchday 4: November 3-4
Matchday 5: November 24-25
Matchday 6: December 8-9
Matchday 7: January 19-20, 2027
Matchday 8: January 27, 2027
Round of 16 play-offs: February 16-17 and 23-24, 2027
Round of 16: March 9-10 and 16-17, 2027
Quarter-finals: April 6-7 and 13-14, 2027
Semi-finals: April 27-28 and May 4-5, 2027
Final: June 5, 2027

Photo: Chat GPT