Champions League Draw Revealed: Who Could Face Man City in the 2025-26 League Phase?
Manchester City will be eager to leave the disappointment of 2024–25 in the past and return to competing for major silverware in 2025–26.
Throughout this decade, City have established themselves as one of the top contenders in the Champions League. Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola's team barely advanced from last season's first-ever league phase, and were subsequently overwhelmed by Real Madrid in the knockout stage playoffs, missing out on the round of 16 for the first time since 2012–13.
A difficult campaign resulted in City ending a season without any trophies for the first time since Guardiola's initial year at the club. Despite this, they secured a comfortable third-place finish in the Premier League to guarantee Champions League participation. Now, with a refreshed roster for the upcoming season, they'll aim to compete for all available honors once more.
With fresh hope, here's who City might potentially encounter in the 2025–26 Champions League league phase.
Which 2025–26 Champions League Pot Will Man City Be In?
The Citizens will be positioned in Pot 1 of the Champions League league phase draw. Despite last season's disappointing performance, UEFA considers results from the most recent five campaigns in their club coefficient rankings—the system that determines pot placement.
Similar to the first league phase last season, each team will participate in eight total matches in the competition's opening round. Every club will meet two opponents from each pot, but City cannot face another Premier League team, nor two clubs from the same nation.
This means City will dodge encounters with Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United during the league phase, reducing their pool of potential adversaries.
Man City's 2025–26 Potential Champions League League Phase Adversaries
Club | Nation | Pot |
|---|---|---|
PSG | France | 1 |
Real Madrid | Spain | 1 |
Bayern Munich | Germany | 1 |
Inter Milan | Italy | 1 |
Borussia Dortmund | Germany | 1 |
Barcelona | Spain | 1 |
Bayer Leverkusen | Germany | 2 |
Atlético Madrid | Spain | 2 |
Atalanta | Italy | 2 |
Villarreal | Spain | 2 |
Juventus | Italy | 2 |
Eintracht Frankfurt | Germany | 2 |
PSV Eindhoven | Netherlands | 3 |
Ajax | Netherlands | 3 |
Napoli | Italy | 3 |
Sporting CP | Portugal | 3 |
Olympiacos | Greece | 3 |
Slavia Prague | Czechia | 3 |
Marseille | France | 3 |
Bodø/Glimt | Norway | 3 |
Monaco | France | 4 |
Galatasaray | Türkiye | 4 |
Union Saint-Gilloise | Belgium | 4 |
Athletic Club | Spain | 4 |
Pafos | Cyprus | 4 |
Kairat | Kazakhstan | 4 |
Seven Champions League positions remain available and will be determined in the playoff finals before the league phase draw on Thursday, Aug. 28.
With both Chelsea and Liverpool joining City in Pot 1, there are only six possible opponents the Citizens can meet from the top pot. Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Inter Milan are all potential matchups, as is Real Madrid, a team City has encountered in each of the last four campaigns.
Pot 2 features Juventus, a team that defeated City last season. However, Guardiola's squad already secured revenge with a 5–2 thrashing at the Club World Cup. Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt and the perpetually threatening Atlético Madrid are also potential opponents.
In Pot 3, a clash against Sporting CP, who demolished City last season in Ruben Amorim's final home match before moving to Man Utd, would be welcomed as a chance for payback. But the most intriguing possible fixture would be a meeting with Napoli and club legend Kevin De Bruyne. PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague and Marseille round out the other confirmed opponents from this pot.
Most teams still seeking qualification will be placed in Pot 4, joining Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Club, Pafos and Kairat as City's possible opponents.
Man City's Most Challenging Potential 2025–26 Champions League League Phase Opponents
No opponents in Pot 1 can be considered straightforward. However, meeting Real Madrid for a fifth straight season in Europe seems unavoidable—Los Blancos demolished Man City last term and have crushed their Champions League aspirations in three of the past four campaigns.
Guardiola confronting boyhood team Barcelona could prove equally challenging if not more so. The Catalans have regained their strength under Hansi Flick and would relish their chances against City. The same applies to current champions PSG, who defeated City last season to spark their title campaign.
Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, two clubs Man City overcame in their 2022–23 championship-winning season, would also present formidable challenges. Nevertheless, City would consider them manageable opponents.
A Kevin De Bruyne reunion could prove to be a potential stumbling block. Napoli are the defending Serie A champions and manager Antonio Conte holds the advantage in his head-to-head record against Guardiola, winning four of their seven encounters.
Additionally, the previously mentioned Sporting CP and Juventus defeated the Citizens last season, and while a home fixture would present an entirely different scenario, avoiding them would be ideal.