Updated 7 October 2026. The next UEFA Champions League league-phase round is scheduled for 13 and 14 October. The opening matches took place on 8–10 September, so the competition is currently between its first and second rounds. This WABO preview sets out the confirmed calendar, selected fixtures and the qualification rules that give the October programme its context. UEFA’s season calendar.
Three useful points
- September scorelines below are completed results; the October pairings are forthcoming fixtures.
- Every club plays eight different opponents in the league phase, with four matches at home and four away.
- The final table determines direct qualification, a playoff place or elimination. An opening win does not settle that outcome.
The opening results in brief
Several prominent clubs started with victories. Manchester City won 2–0 at Porto, Real Madrid beat Inter 2–1, Liverpool defeated Atlético de Madrid 2–1 and Arsenal won 1–0 at Napoli. Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5–1, Paris Saint-Germain overcame Slovan Bratislava 6–1 and Bayern München defeated Bodø/Glimt 5–0. Manchester United won 4–0 against Sabah, while Como beat Leipzig 4–1. UEFA’s results and fixtures.
These are a starting reference for the next round. A scoreline records the outcome; by itself it cannot establish which team controlled every phase of a match, whether a tactical change worked or how a side will perform against a different opponent.
Selected fixtures for the next round
Tuesday, 13 October includes Arsenal against Lille, Atlético against Manchester United, Galatasaray against Barcelona, Inter against Club Brugge and Viking against Bayern. Wednesday, 14 October includes Manchester City against Paris, Roma against Real Madrid, LASK against Liverpool, Aston Villa against Fenerbahçe and Feyenoord against Como. These pairings come from the same official fixture list.
City and Paris therefore meet after winning their opening games. Atlético and United arrive from different opening outcomes. Those contrasts offer straightforward questions for viewers without requiring a prediction about the result.
Two teams worth understanding before October
UEFA’s team profiles describe Arsenal as the previous season’s English champions and Champions League runners-up. Como’s qualification came through fourth place in Italy, bringing the club into European competition for the first time. The profiles name Mikel Arteta and Cesc Fàbregas as their respective coaches. Those backgrounds give the next round two different stories: an established finalist continuing its campaign and a newcomer building its first European experience. UEFA’s team profiles.
The same source identifies Sabah as the Azerbaijani entrant. Malaysian readers should keep that country label attached when reading the United result or later fixtures. The team listed in this Champions League is not Malaysia’s Sabah club.
UEFA also records that Arsenal won every match in last season’s league phase, becoming the first club to complete that stage with a perfect record. That is relevant background for assessing the club’s experience of this format. It should remain clearly labelled as last season’s achievement: the current campaign has its own fixtures and results, and the earlier record does not carry points forward.
How the league phase works
UEFA’s current draw explanation confirms 36 participating clubs and 144 league-phase matches across eight rounds. Each side faces eight opponents in single-leg fixtures, split evenly between home and away. The draw uses four pots of nine clubs, with each team receiving two opponents from each pot. UEFA’s 2026/27 draw procedure.
That structure matters when comparing schedules. Two clubs can occupy nearby positions in the table while having faced different opponents. A common ranking does not mean every team follows the same route through the first eight matches. Keep the opponents and home-or-away split beside the points total when making an early comparison.
What points will eventually decide
Under UEFA’s league-phase format, a victory earns three points and a draw earns one. The top eight finishers advance directly to the round of 16. Clubs placed ninth to 24th enter a two-legged knockout playoff, and those finishing 25th or lower are eliminated without moving into the Europa League. UEFA’s format explanation.
For a simple hypothetical example, two victories produce six points, while a win and a draw produce four. That arithmetic helps explain the value of consecutive results. It cannot tell us the eventual qualification threshold: that depends on the complete table after all eight rounds. No specific points target is treated here as a guarantee.
A short gap before Matchday Three
The official calendar schedules the third round for 20 and 21 October, just one week after the second. The remaining league-phase dates stretch into January, with the final round on 27 January 2027. These dates are useful for following the competition, although UEFA notes that dates remain subject to change.
For Malaysian readers adding matches to a calendar, check the date and time displayed in the official match centre for the selected time zone. A European evening fixture can fall on the following Malaysian calendar day. This preview uses UEFA’s fixture dates and does not present unverified Malaysian kick-off times, television listings or team selections.
Short FAQ
Were there Champions League games on 6 October?
The published league-phase calendar places the next round on 13–14 October. The completed results in this article belong to September.
Does every team play all 35 opponents?
No. Each club has eight league-phase opponents within the shared 36-team competition.
Can a Matchday Two result confirm qualification?
The qualification routes depend on the final league table. Early results contribute points, but this preview makes no qualification claim for any club.
For more context on how the common table is read, see this Champions League league-table and qualification guide. Keep the current UEFA fixture list beside any general format explanation.