The UEFA Champions League 2026-27 returns for its second round of matches this week, with 36 clubs in action across Europe. Paris Saint-Germain, winners twice, lead the standings after the first set of league fixtures with three points. Bayern Munich, champions six times, and Barcelona, winners five times, are just behind after also winning their openers.
The UEFA Champions League 2026-27 is moving into its second round of matches this week, with 36 clubs in action across Europe as the continent’s leading club competition resumes.
The preview by Manasi Pathak, published by Al Jazeera on 12 October 2026, set out the format and the key matches to watch.
Paris Saint-Germain, winners of the title twice, top the standings after the opening set of league fixtures with three points. Bayern Munich, champions six times, and Barcelona, winners five times, sit behind them after also winning their first matches.
The league phase is in its third year. It began in September and continues until January 2027, after which the knockout rounds will decide the champion in early June.
How the format works
The Champions League is an annual club competition featuring the best teams from across Europe.
This season is the third time 36 teams will take part in the main round, an increase from 32 under the previous format.
From 2003, the competition used 32 clubs split into eight groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the last 16. That structure has changed significantly in recent years.
Starting with the 2024-25 season, the 36 clubs have been placed in a single league using a “Swiss system” more often associated with chess.
Previously, teams played six group stage games and faced each opponent home and away. Now each club plays eight games, one against each of eight different opponents.
At the end of the league phase, the top eight teams qualify directly for the knockout rounds. Teams placed from ninth to 24th must go through knockout phase playoffs played across two legs. Teams ranked 25th and below are eliminated.
The knockout format then follows a familiar path: the round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the final.
The league phase matches are scheduled through January 2027, while the knockout phase matches are set for 2027. The final is due in early June.
Matches to watch
The key matches fall across matchdays two and three, with the preview listing five games to watch this week and five for next week.
Manchester City’s home meeting with PSG headlines the upcoming round, and it marks the first Champions League match for the troubled Etihad club since an independent commission found it guilty of breaking more than 100 Premier League financial rules.
Manchester United, City’s crosstown rivals and a club under pressure, are also in action this week. They travel to Madrid to face an Atletico side in good form, hoping to record only their third win of the season.
Elsewhere, manager Jose Mourinho will meet his former club AS Roma when Real travel to the Italian capital.
PSG’s Ferran Torres, who scored three goals in the first Champions League match, is a joint top scorer in this year’s competition alongside Ermedin Demirovic of Stuttgart.
Other players to watch include Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Bayern Munich’s talented Michael Olise and PSG forward Ousmane Dembele. All three scored two goals in their respective Champions League openers.
The second round of matches begins this week, with PSG setting the early pace and several major clubs facing important tests. The league phase runs until January 2027, before the knockout rounds lead to the final in early June.
