On Thursday, August 27th took place the League Phase draw of the 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League campaign, with PSG set to learn which opponents they will face in the first eight games of the competition.
The back-to-back Champions League winners are heavy favourite ahead of the tournament as they will look to win a historical three-peat. Ahead of the ceremony, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, presented PSG legend and captain Marquinhos as the first-ever winner of the UEFA Respect Award following his incredible gesture towards Brazilian centre-back Gabriel after his Champions League final penalty shootout miss.
Marquinhos who is currently preparing Paris Saint-Germain's clash against Lille tomorrow at the Stade Pierre Mauroy on Matchday 2 of Ligue 1 McDonald's was not present and the award was received by his club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Then came the moment of truth as the draw for the League Phase of the Champions League took place delivering the names of the eight opponents that Paris Saint-Germain will face. While the date of the fixtures are yet to be revealed, we now know who the club will battle to defend their European crown.
PSG learn their opponents in the League Phase of the Champions League
The European Champions were obviously part of the Pot 1 and will avoid facing most of the biggest teams in Europe but two. They will play four games at home and four away.
In the four home games, the Parisians will host Turkish side Galatasaray, Slovak club Slovan Bratislava, led by Ivory Coast legend Yaya Touré, Italian giants AS Roma and Spanish giants FC Barcelona, Luis Enrique's former club.
The four away games will see PSG travel to Spain to face Villareal, the Yellow Submarine. It will be a tough away day at the Estadio de La Cerámica. Then they will go to Italy and face newcomers Como who are led by Cesc Fabregas. The Parisians will then travel to England twice to face both Aston Villa, Europa League winners, a club they defeated 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup before the beginning of the season. They will then travel to the Etihad Stadium for a heavyweight clash against Enzo Maresca's Manchester City, a side the faced several times in the past in the competition.
Overall, the draw was fair to the Parisians who will still have to face tough opponents such as Barcelona, City and Villa. However, the European Champions should still manage to qualify for the next round of the competition. The real question would be: can they secure a top-8 spot?
