Who was given the toughest fixtures in the Champions League draw?
The draw was kind to Liverpool and Arsenal, but Manchester City and Aston Villa do not have it so good
The 36 clubs in the Champions League know who they will play in the league phase, but which team has the kindest draw and who has the toughest assignment? Each side knows their eight opponents but, given that no two teams face the same set of opponents, this is not a level playing field. We have used the Opta power rankings – which rank 16,000 teams from across the world on the same scale – to find out who did best in the draw.
In terms of Premier League clubs, Liverpool have received the easiest draw. Their eight opponents have an average rating of 90.0, making theirs the ninth-kindest fixture list overall. Atlético Madrid and Inter were the two easiest pot-one opponents that Premier League clubs could draw, and Liverpool will play them both. They have avoided any true European behemoth.
Arsenal also received a relatively favourable draw, albeit for different reasons. Their pot-one fixtures against Bayern Munich (away) and Real Madrid (home) are about as difficult as they come – and they also drew Borussia Dortmund, the highest-ranked team in pot two – but, beyond those fixtures, there is little for Mikel Arteta’s side to fear. Arsenal drew the two lowest-ranked sides in pot four: Sabah and Slovan Bratislava. So, while the top end of their draw is tough, the bottom end is kind. Sabah, 170th in the world, and Slovan Bratislava, 224th, are the two lowest-ranked teams in the competition.
Stuttgart received the easiest draw of any team, with their opponents having an average rating of 88.9. Inter came out of the draw particularly well, receiving the second-easiest set of fixtures, with an average opponent rating of 89.5. Having finished as runners-up in 2024-25, Inter suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Bodø/Glimt in the playoff stage last season. Given their relatively easy schedule, they will hope to avoid that stage altogether and qualify directly for the last 16.
Manchester City will begin a Champions League campaign without Pep Guardiola for the first time in 11 years. His replacement, Enzo Maresca, has been handed the most difficult fixture list of any Premier League club. City’s opponents have an average rating of 91.7, with only five teams receiving a tougher draw overall. They have drawn two European giants in pot one – Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain – while Napoli, ranked 34th in the world, are a particularly difficult assignment from pot three.
Aston Villa also drew Barcelona and PSG from pot one, although they have fond memories of their previous meeting with the French champions at Villa Park. PSG ultimately knocked Villa out in 2024-25, but only just. Villa won the second leg of their quarter-finals 3-2 at home, falling just short over the tie as they lost 5-4 on aggregate. Villa’s squad has changed significantly since then, however, and they were also given the toughest possible pair of opponents from pot two in Club Brugge and Borussia Dortmund.
Their opponents from the lower pots are more forgiving, but Unai Emery will need to work his European magic if a squad that has undergone significant churn this summer is to make another deep run in the competition.
Manchester United are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2023-24. Their previous campaign did not go particularly well, with United losing four of their six games and finishing bottom of their group. Their draw this season is not disastrous, but it is definitely on the more difficult side.
They face Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid from pot one, and have drawn Como – the most difficult possible opponent in pot four. Fixtures against Sporting CP, ranked 21st in the world, and Roma, 22nd, should also be highly competitive. United drew RB Leipzig (38th) and Villarreal (43rd) from pot three. They were not the worst possible outcomes, but there were certainly plenty of more favourable draws available.
It is no surprise to see Sabah and Slavia Prague emerge with the hardest and third-hardest fixture lists, respectively. Beyond those two, Ligue 1 club Lens received a particularly difficult draw, with their opponents’ average rating at 92.1. Atlético Madrid were not far behind on 92.0.
