The hot potato is dead, now UEFA decides the fate of the 36 Champions League teams with software that selects the eight rivals for each of the participating clubs. In this second edition of the new format, the software generated a difficult route for Real Madrid, an uncomfortable one for Atlético, Villarreal and Athletic, and a smooth one for Barcelona.
The Whites have had the toughest trip of the season: they will fly to Almaty, in Kazakhstan, 8,000 kilometres from Madrid and just 300 from China, to face debutant Kairat in one of four away matches this season. The other three are not easy either: Anfield Road, home of Liverpool and where they were defeated last year; Lisbon, home of Benfica, and Athens, to face Mendilibar's Olympiacos, champions of last year's Conference League. The Santiago Bernabéu will host several historic teams: Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, after a rebuilding market, will visit Chamartín again to add another date to a decade of constant duels. In addition, Juventus, Olympique de Marseille, both European champions, and Monaco will test Xabi Alonso's team.
Barcelona, for their part, have been luckier. PSG and Chelsea, the last-place finishers in the Club World Cup, appear to be their two main rivals in the eight-match regular season schedule. But beyond them, their journey slows down. Barcelona will host PSG, Eintracht Frankfurt, Olympiacos, and Copenhagen, while Flick's men will have to fly to London (Chelsea), Bruges, Slavia Prague, and Newcastle.
Atlético Madrid will also have to travel to England twice, albeit for two tougher matches. Simeone's side will visit Liverpool and Arsenal, currently the two main favourites to lift the Premier League title. They will also be away to Eindhoven (PSV) and Istanbul (Galatasaray). The Metropolitano will face Inter Milan and will be hoping for a win against Eintracht, Bodø/Glimt from Norway, and Royal Union Saint Gilloise from Belgium.
Continuing with the Spaniards, Villarreal, who were in Pot 2 like Atlético, were less fortunate in their matches against opponents from Pots 3 and 4. La Cerámica's team will play their four home matches against Manchester City, Juventus, Ajax and Copenhagen and will have to visit Dortmund, Leverkusen and Tottenham at their stadiums, three important away games. Finally, they will travel to Cyprus to face Paphos.
Finally, in their return to the Champions League, Athletic will host PSG and Arsenal at San Mamés, as well as Sporting de Portugal and Qarabag, while they will travel to the stadiums of Dortmund, Atalanta, Slavia Prague and Newcastle in an eight-match schedule that has everything.
Among the favorites, the one with the toughest schedule is PSG. The reigning European champions will face Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Tottenham, and Newcastle at home and will also visit Barça, Leverkusen, Sporting, and Athletic Club. Eight major rivals will watch how Luis Enrique's side respond to their status as defending champions.
