The most elite club competition in world football returns this week. Once again, this season the UEFA Champions League comprises a mix of new teams along with former winners and a few looking to win the prestigious tournament for the first time.
Here, we preview all the games of Matchday 1 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.
The reigning Eredivisie champions have started the season well, having won four of their five games and averaging more than three goals per game.
As for the Belgian champions, they’re unbeaten in their seven games so far with five wins and two draws, having conceded only three goals.
PSV will be without defenders Armando Obispo, Wessel Kuhn and Mauro Júnior, as well as forward Alassane Pléa, who are all out injured. Union SG, meanwhile, are likely to miss forwards Raul Florucz, Mohammed Fuseini, and Sofiane Boufal.
It is evident from their current form that PSV have an attacking edge over Union SG, while the latter have a solid defence. Also, this is Union SG’s debut in the Champions League, and inexperience could be an issue. With home advantage also on their side, Peter Bosz’s men are our favourites to emerge victorious.
Score prediction: PSV 2–0 Union Saint-Gilloise
The team from Bilbao are in the Champions League proper for only the third time since its 1992 rebrand, while the Gunners go again in search of their maiden European crown.
Athletic won three straight games before losing their most recent fixture at home to Deportivo Alavés, while the Gunners are second in the Premier League table — with three wins and a loss — and ran out comfortable winners against Nottingham Forest in their last league encounter. Arsenal’s defence has been virtually impenetrable; they’ve conceded only one goal so far, that too from a set piece.
With a massive summer spending spree, Mikel Arteta has improved his squad depth massively. That said, Arsenal will be without Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz for this game, with Martin Ødegaard and William Saliba also in doubt. As for Athletic, their star attacking player Nico Williams is out with an adductor injury, with Beñat Prados and Unai Egiluz also out.
Considering their defensive and offensive qualities, Arsenal are our overwhelming favourites for this game.
Score prediction: Athletic Club 0–2 Arsenal
Juventus have kicked off the season in exceptional form, winning three out of three in Serie A, the last one being a thrilling stoppage-time 4–3 win against Inter. They’re tied on points with Napoli in first. As for Dortmund, they too are unbeaten in the league with three wins and a draw.
Juve do not have any major injury issues for this game, while Dortmund are missing Emre Can, Niklas Süle, Julian Brandt, Aarón Anselmino, and Nico Schlotterbeck.
Despite the injuries, Dortmund have been able to manage well and possess great attacking depth. Juventus didn’t fare too well at home last season in Europe, and their last league game showed that they do have defensive issues. This could be an entertaining draw at the Allianz Stadium.
Score prediction: Juventus 2–2 Dortmund
While Benfica are Champions League regulars, this is only the second time since the 2017/18 season that Qarabag have reached the first stage proper.
If we look at their current form, Benfica have three wins and a draw in their last four games, while the reigning Azerbaijan Premier League champions have a loss, a win, and a draw from their last three encounters.
Benfica have a few injury issues in their camp, with Alexander Bah, Amir Dedic, Bruma, Dodi Lukebakio, and Manu Silva out with injuries. However, Bruno Lage has decent squad depth and will put out a strong side for the game. Qarabag have no major injury concerns, but the difference in level will be a concern for them; they are likely to sit deep in their half and look to attack on the counter. Considering their experience and squad strength, Benfica are heavy favourites for this one.
Score prediction: Benfica 3–1 Qarabag
Tottenham Hotspur have started their league campaign brightly, having brought in great new signings both in terms of players and the new head coach. While they had a dismal Premier League campaign last season, Spurs qualified for the UCL by winning the Europa League. As for Villarreal, they qualified as Spain had five teams qualifying for this season’s UCL — just like the Premier League.
Coming to their current form, both teams have started well — Spurs with three wins and a loss, and Villarreal with two wins, a draw, and a loss in their last four league games. However, Spurs are coming into this game on the back of a big away win against a struggling West Ham United, while Villarreal lost away to Atlético Madrid in their last game.
As for injuries, Spurs have a host of big absences in James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, and Radu Dragusin, while Villarreal will be without Gerard Moreno, Pau Cabanes, and Logan Costa, with Willy Kambwala also a major doubt.
Villarreal haven’t beaten an English opponent in the UCL previously and, having lost their form recently as well as playing away, this could be a difficult opening encounter. As for Spurs, even though this could be a close game for them, they should be able to bag all three points here.
Score prediction: Spurs 2–1 Villarreal
Los Blancos have started the season well, having won their first four games. Kylian Mbappé in particular has been in lethal form. As for Marseille, their form hasn’t been as great, with two wins and two losses in their first four Ligue 1 encounters.
As for injuries, Real Madrid have several players out, including Antonio Rüdiger, Eduardo Camavinga, Ferland Mendy, and Jude Bellingham. Marseille, meanwhile, do not have any major concerns.
Looking at their form, quality, and head-to-head record, Real Madrid remain the overwhelming favourites for this game, though their defence is just leaky enough to concede a goal or two.
Score prediction: Real Madrid 2–1 OM
While the Greek champions have been featuring in the Champions League regularly, this is Pafos’ first time in the UCL main draw.
Olympiacos have started the season well, with three wins out of three, the last one being a 5–0 drubbing of Panserraikos. As for Pafos, they’ve only played two league games — one win and one loss.
Konstantinos Tzolakis is suspended, while Gelson Martins, Rodinei, and Roman Yaremchuk are all doubtful for the game on Olympiacos’ side. Pafos, meanwhile, have no major concerns in terms of player availability.
Given their experience, form, and squad quality, Olympiacos should win this game easily. However, Pafos have won all their UCL qualifying games en route to the main draw and won’t make it easy for the Super League 1 side. This could be a closely contested affair, which Olympiacos may edge by a goal.
Score prediction: Olympiacos 2–1 Pafos
Slavia Praha have played in the UCL several times before, while Bodø/Glimt are making their UCL main-draw debut. That said, they did perform superbly in last season’s Europa League and reached the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champions Tottenham Hotspur.
As far as recent form is concerned, Slavia Praha are top of the Czech First League table with six wins and two draws, while Bodø/Glimt have played 21 games in the Eliteserien and are sitting top of the table with 15 wins, three draws, and three losses.
Coming into this game, Bodø have a host of injury issues, with six of their players out, while Slavia Praha have three injured players.
With home advantage on their side, Slavia Praha should be the favourites for this encounter on paper, though Bodø may have a surprise or two up their sleeve, and this could end in a feisty draw.
Score prediction: Slavia Prague 1–1 Bodø/Glimt
This is one of the top encounters in the UCL this week. Neither side is a stranger to Champions League football, though Chelsea are returning for the first time since the 2022/23 season.
In terms of recent form, Bayern have a 100% record so far with three wins out of three in the German Bundesliga, while Chelsea are also unbeaten in the Premier League with two wins and two draws from their first four games.
Both sides are struggling with injuries, with Bayern missing Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies, and Chelsea making do without Liam Delap, Roméo Lavia, and Levi Colwill. However, both teams have great squad depth and will field strong line-ups for this game. The head-to-head record suggests that Bayern should be able to beat Chelsea, as the Blues have never beaten the Bavarian giants in the UCL.
With home advantage on their side, Bayern Munich are the favourites for this one, though Chelsea do have the attacking threat to trouble their defence. This could be an entertaining end-to-end affair with chances galore, but Bayern should edge it by a goal or two.
Score prediction: Bayern Munich 2–1 Chelsea
Merseyside meets Madrid once again in one of the headline fixtures of Matchweek 1. The Reds have made an unblemished start to their Premier League proceedings this season, while Diego Simeone’s side have only just got off the mark in LaLiga.
The 95th-minute winner against newly promoted Burnley saw Liverpool become the first-ever Premier League team to earn four straight wins thanks to winning goals in the final ten minutes. How long they can keep prevailing in this manner, however, remains to be seen.
That said, the only stat that matters for Liverpool is their perfect haul of 12 points from 12. Their defensive structure has also tightened in recent weeks, albeit at the expense of losing their way in attack.
However, an injury-hit Atleti side may not be best placed to take advantage of Liverpool’s recent struggles to score from open play, and if there is to be a goal to separate the sides on the night, it is likely to arrive from the Premier League champions.
Score prediction: Liverpool 1–0 Atleti
Having won all four league games this season, last weekend’s match saw three more additions to PSG’s injury list, with Kvicha Kvaratskhelia suffering a knock to his shin and both Lee Kang-in and Lucas Beraldo coming off after ankle injuries. This is in addition to existing injuries to Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé, both of whom will be out for a number of weeks.
This leaves the Parisian squad looking dangerously thin ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League fixture against Atalanta — specifically in attack, with Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos the only fit senior forwards.
The visitors, meanwhile, aren’t in the best of places themselves, having registered just one win in their first three fixtures. The win against Lecce would have given them confidence, but despite the injuries the reigning European champions are still a team to be feared, especially away from home.
Even with a thin-looking squad, we are backing PSG to come out on top in this one.
Score prediction: PSG 2–0 Atalanta
It was a spectacular fall from grace for Ajax and their former boss Francesco Farioli last season, as they fluffed a golden chance to reclaim the Eredivisie title before the Italian coach walked out. The board responded to Farioli’s departure by bringing John Heitinga back to the club. His side are yet to lose this season, having won all three home games but dropping points on the road twice.
However, much like the hosts, Inter also had to settle for second place in their domestic league last season — letting Napoli pip them to the Scudetto — though more heartbreak awaited them. After racking up a club-record ten Champions League wins last term, the wheels came off for the Nerazzurri in a horribly one-sided final, where the three-time European champions were dismantled limb by limb by PSG in a 5–0 thrashing, which also proved to be Simone Inzaghi’s last game in charge.
Having reached two finals in three years under Inzaghi, the reins have now been handed to Cristian Chivu, who has thus far failed to get his team going. Thus, we expect this to be a much tighter game given Ajax’s current home form and Inter’s leaky defence.
Score prediction: Ajax 1–1 Inter Milan
Having taken over from Erik ten Hag just two league games into the season, Kasper Hjulmand got off to a successful start as Bayer Leverkusen boss, leading his new team to a 3–1 home victory over in-form Eintracht Frankfurt despite being reduced to nine men.
That first league win of the season would have given the 2023/24 German Bundesliga champions some much-needed confidence boost ahead of their trip to the Danish capital to face Copenhagen, who lost the top spot in the Danish Superliga at the weekend after suffering a painful 2–1 defeat to bitter rivals Brøndby — a result they will be determined to bounce back from.
This game will be extra special for Hjulmand, as he returns to his home country and to Parken — the stadium where he experienced both highs and lows during his four-year spell as Denmark head coach.
Score prediction: Copenhagen 1–2 Leverkusen
Club Brugge will step into their first Champions League game of this season full of confidence, having started with three wins, a draw, and just one loss in their opening five games. They’ve scored 11 goals, while only conceding three and keeping two clean sheets along the way.
Meanwhile, Monaco’s form has been hit-and-miss with three wins and two losses. They’ve scored nine but have also let in seven, without any clean sheets to their name.
In Champions League qualifiers, Club Brugge demonstrated their skill with commanding 6–0 and 3–1 wins over Rangers. On the flip side, Monaco have found away assignments quite a challenge this season, as shown in their recent 1–0 defeat at Lille.
When it comes to head-to-head match-ups, the Belgian Pro League team hold a slight edge with one win and one draw, including a memorable 4–0 triumph away from home back in 2018.
Score prediction: Club Brugge 2–1 Monaco
Champions League football returns to St. James’ Park with a thrilling match-up as the Magpies host reigning LaLiga champions Barcelona on Wednesday. Known for their passionate home support and raucous atmosphere, Newcastle are set to go toe-to-toe against Hansi Flick’s Barça, a team renowned for their technical skills and attacking power.
The Magpies have been inconsistent, with just one victory, two draws, and two losses in their last five games. Despite maintaining three clean sheets, their attacking struggles are notable, with goalless draws against Leeds United and Aston Villa.
The Catalans, on the other hand, arrive in northeast England with impressive recent results. With four wins and a draw in their last five matches, they have scored 18 goals and conceded three. The only dent was a draw with Rayo Vallecano, underscoring potential pressure points.
We’ve seen before how the atmosphere at St. James’ Park can sometimes get the better of visiting players. Thus, despite the visible gulf in quality, this tie has the potential to go either way.
Score prediction: Newcastle 2–2 Barça
It’s a homecoming for one of Man City’s most beloved club legends in recent times, with Kevin De Bruyne set to feature against his former club in this tasty opening encounter.
In terms of form, City have had mixed results lately — two wins and two losses in the Premier League. In contrast, Napoli are riding high on confidence with three straight wins in Serie A.
Injuries are a concern for both sides. Key players like Mateo Kovacic and Rayan Cherki are not available for City, while Napoli are missing their star striker Romelu Lukaku, and injuries to Nikita Contini and Amir Rrahmani have also stretched them defensively.
Historically, City have had the edge over Napoli. They were unbeaten in their last two Champions League meetings back in 2017. We expect them to win again here.
Score prediction: Man City 3–1 Napoli
Eintracht Frankfurt will look to bounce back from Friday’s 3–1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen when they host Turkish champions Galatasaray. Dino Toppmöller’s side made a promising start to the season, beating Werder Bremen 4–1 and Hoffenheim 3–1 before slipping to their first defeat of the season.
Galatasaray, on the other hand, have enjoyed an impressive start to their season, winning their first five Süper Lig games. They’ve kept four clean sheets and have only conceded one goal. Moreover, marquee summer signings Leroy Sané and former Germany captain Ilkay Gündogan bring much-needed star quality and experience to this young side.
We expect this to be a closely contested affair, with home advantage giving Frankfurt just enough edge to grab all three points.
Score prediction: Frankfurt 2–1 Galatasaray
Sporting have won four out of their last five games across all competitions and will be hoping to carry their excellent domestic form into the Champions League. Their only loss during this period was against Porto — a narrow 1–2 defeat at home.
First-timers Kairat, meanwhile, enter this season’s Champions League first stage proper with a solid record in their last five matches; they emerged victorious in three of these clashes, showing gradual progress. The highlight of their campaign was their remarkable defensive performance against Celtic in the UCL qualifiers, securing two goalless draws before winning on penalties.
However, a team like Sporting should be able to register victories against the newcomers. We’re backing the defending Liga Portugal champions to start the campaign with a comfortable victory at home.
Score prediction: Sporting 2–0 Kairat
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