There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Manchester City facing Real Madrid in the Champions League. Alternatively, you could easily replace Real with ‘facing a former player’ as it was almost a certainty that City would draw against Napoli, the new home of Kevin de Bruyne.
And, on an evening in Monaco in August, both of those came true as Manchester City discovered their Champions League fate for the 2025/26 season.
In the second season of the new look format, City were ‘drawn’ against
the two clubs. Well, I say drawn – their name was selected from a bowl, a button was pressed and a computer, not a human, drew the teams that each club could face.
Real were first to be drawn and you could almost hear UEFA’s computer, screaming the name Manchester City before Brazilian legend Kaka, who was once a supposed City target, had pushed the button to reveal the Spanish giant’s opponents.
Instead of teams being drawn against three teams and playing each other home and away, the new format now pitches teams once against each other – two teams from each of the four pots. The computer even decides whether the matches will be played at home or away, which renders the ceremony and the appearances of Kaka and Swedish egotist Zlatan Ibrahimovic pretty much redundant.
Despite the appearance of Real’s name alongside City’s, Liverpool were also drawn to face them, however, they will play their match at Anfield while City will travel to the Spanish capital.
It must have merely been a coincidence that the Blues face Real again, and in a double coincidence, City were also paired against Napoli – the same Napoli that signed Kevin de Bruyne on a free transfer this summer. On that occasion, the Blues will face the Italian side at home, and, while de Bruyne will have nothing but love for the faithful, he may have something to prove against the side he was reluctant to leave.
City’s other opponents were, once again, Erling Haaland’s old club, Borussia Dortmund, Bernardo Silva’s former club Monaco and Galatasaray, who are still rumoured to be looking to sign Ederson. It’s going to be more like an old boys reunion than the Champions League.
The Blues will also face Villareal, Bayer Leverkusen and Bodo/Glimt, who reached the quarter finals of last year’s Europa League. They also faced Manchester United in last season’s competition, narrowly losing 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Borussia Dortmund (home),
Real Madrid (away),
Bayer Leverkusen (home),
Villarreal (away),
Napoli (home),
Bodo/Glimt (away),
Galatasaray (home),
Monaco (away).
The Other English Teams
England have six teams in the Champions League this season, with Newcastle probably being the team that should give up now.
The Geordies face holders PSG in Paris, Barcelona, Benfica, Marseille and Bilbao, while Arsenal will face Bayern, Inter and Atletico Madrid. As well as facing City, KDB will look to make an impression at home to Chelsea, with the wet London side drawn against Napoli, Barca, Bayern, Benfica and the surprise team from last season, Atalanta. Liverpool will face both Madrid sides and Inter, while Spurs face Dortmund, PSG and Villareal.
At least City are getting the Madrid tie out of the way…until we face them in the last eight!
What do you think? Do you rate City’s chances of qualifying outright this time after the draw? Or do you see another torrid time for the Blues in this season’s competition?
Let us know your thoughts.
