It's time to cue up the UEFA Champions League theme because in a week and change, league phase play will get underway. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a breakdown of the path ahead after Thursday's draw as the countdown to Matchday 1 officially begins.
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📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, Aug. 28
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. Stuttgart, 2:30 p.m. ➡️ Fandango
🇮🇹 Serie A: AC Milan vs. Venezia, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EPL: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇺🇸 NWSL: Gotham FC vs. Portland Thorns, 8 p.m. ➡️ Amazon Prime Video
Saturday, Aug. 29
🏴 EPL: LIverpool vs. Nottingham Forest, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Juventus vs. Parma, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Kansas City Current vs. North Carolina, 6:30 p.m. ➡️ Ion
🇺🇸 MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV
Sunday, Aug. 30
🏴 EPL: Chelsea vs. Brighton and Hove Albion, 9 a.m. ➡️ Peacock
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Madrid vs. Mallorca, 11 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. Bay FC, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN2
🇮🇹 Serie A: Cagliari vs. Inter, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS: St. Louis City vs. FC Dallas, 7 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV
⚽ The Forward Line
🇪🇺 The draw results are in
Thirty-six pushes of a big red button on a late summer day can only mean one thing – a new league phase fixture list is here for all to study before the UEFA Champions League begins on Sept. 8, several enticing match-ups awaiting for this season's participants.
Though the league phase schedule will not drop until Saturday, Thursday's draw laid out the pathway in front of each team as they begin to map out a road to the final and the entertaining stops they will have to take along the way. The Pot 1 teams have an eclectic mix of games awaiting them to kick things off, several litmus tests for their title credentials on tap in the first stage of the competition. Here's a glance at who each of the top teams will play before the knockouts.
- Real Madrid: Inter (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Roma (away), RB Leipzig (home), Shakhtar Donetsk (away), LASK (home), AEK Athens (away)
- Manchester City: Paris Saint-Germain (home), Barcelona (away), Sporting Club (home), Porto (away), Napoli (home), RB Leipzig (away), AEK Athens (home), Lens (away)
- Inter: Liverpool (home), Real Madrid (away), Club Brugge (home), Borussia Dortmund (away), Shakhtar (home), Feyenoord (away), Stuttgart (home), Slovan Bratislava (away)
- Barcelona: Manchester City (home), Paris Saint-Germain (away), Aston Villa (home), Sporting Club (away), Feyenoord (home), Galatasaray (away), Como (home), Sabah (away)
- Atletico Madrid: Bayern Munich (home), Liverpool (away), Manchester United (home), PSV (away), Fenerbahce (home), Bodo/Glimt (away), Viking (home), Stuttgart (away)
- Paris Saint-Germain: Barcelona (home), Manchester City (away), Roma (home), Aston Villa (away), Galatasaray (home), Villarreal (away), Slovan Bratislava (home), Como (away)
- Arsenal: Real Madrid (home), Bayern Munich (away), Borussia Dortmund (home), Real Betis (away), Lille (home), Napoli (away), Sabah (home), Slavia Prague (away)
- Liverpool: Atletico Madrid (home), Inter (away), Porto (home), Club Brugge (away), Villarreal (home), Fenerbahce (away), Lens (home), LASK (away)
- Bayern Munich: Arsenal (home), Atletico Madrid (away), Real Betis (away), Manchester United (away), Bodo/Glimt (home), Lille (away), Slavia Prague (home), Viking (away)
The headlining act of the league phase might just be Barcelona's trip to Paris Saint-Germain, which marks another edition of a Champions League classic that will once again gauge each team's ability to make a deep run in this season's competition. The pressures facing both sides vary -- PSG are in the pursuit of winning a third successive title while Barcelona eagerly await a return to the podium 11 years after their last Champions League title, but return to the competition with several high-profile signings including World Cup winner Rodri.
The draw was favorable for many of the Pot 1 teams, though not all -- Manchester City will have to face both PSG and Barcelona as well as Napoli, now headlined by ex-City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, in a league phase schedule that could be a real trial by fire for new coach Enzo Maresca. Atletico Madrid, though, might be the most disadvantaged of the bunch. Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United make up the fixture list while a trip above the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt adds to the unwanted feeling of their upcoming schedule. It might not be insurmountable, but several genuine challenges are ahead of Atleti, who have their own drama to contend with as Julian Alvarez's will-he-won't-he transfer saga creates discontent amongst the fanbase and a tense environment inside the Metropolitano Stadium.
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