The PSG Champions League opponents for the 2026/27 league phase are confirmed, and the holders have not been handed an easy ride. Paris will host Barcelona at the Parc des Princes and travel to Manchester City after Thursday night’s draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the opening act in a bid for a third straight European crown.
PSG Champions League opponents at the Parc des Princes
Les Parisiens’ four home fixtures pit them against Barcelona, AS Roma, Galatasaray and Bratislava. The Barcelona tie is the one that sells itself: Luis Enrique against the club he once managed, and a rematch of a night the Blaugrana will not have forgotten. As Get French Football News notes, Hansi Flick’s side lost at home to Paris last season and now get their chance to get even, this time in front of a full Parc.
Roma bring a different kind of problem. Galatasaray away is usually the fixture Europe’s big sides dread, but Paris get them at home, and the same applies to Bratislava. On paper, that is a home schedule Luis Enrique should expect to take close to maximum points from.
Etihad, Villa Park and two more awkward trips
The road map is where it bites. PSG go to the Etihad Stadium to face Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City, then to Villa Park, Villarreal and Como. The Aston Villa trip carries an extra edge after Paris beat Unai Emery’s side 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this month, a result that will not have been filed away quietly in the Midlands.
It is a genuinely demanding away run. City and Villa in the same set of eight is the kind of draw that decides whether a side finishes in the top eight and skips the play-off round, or spends February grinding through an extra two legs.
Chasing a threepeat nobody has managed since Zidane
Paris arrive as back-to-back winners, and the prize on offer is rare. Only Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid have won three in a row in the modern era. That context has not been lost on rival dressing rooms either: Harry Kane, quoted by Ouest-France, said he thinks PSG are the big favourites to go again this season.
Luis Enrique has spent August warning his squad against complacency. This draw does that job for him. There is no soft landing in it.
Lille and Lens get their own headaches
The other French clubs were not spared. Lille, drawn from Pot 3, host Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich and visit last season’s runners-up Arsenal at the Emirates, with home games against Real Betis, Galatasaray and Bratislava to balance the books. Davide Ancelotti’s side also travel to Roma, Bodo/Glimt and Stuttgart.
Lens drew two Premier League heavyweights: they host Manchester City and go to Anfield to face Liverpool. Dino Toppmoller’s side will also welcome Sporting CP, Bodo/Glimt and Como, with away trips to Brugge, RB Leipzig and Slavia Prague.
When it all starts
The league phase runs from 8 September 2026 through to 27 January 2027, with all 36 teams in a single table. We previewed the pots and the shape of this draw last week, and the rematch angle flagged in our pre-draw look at a possible Arsenal reunion stayed in the hat this time.
Before any of it, there is Ligue 1 business. Paris travel to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday to face Lille, with that 2-2 draw at Rennes still fresh and a title defence that needs tidying up in a hurry.
