UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Daniel91]

Arsenal was also amongst the top four clubs in the Champions League standing but where they winners 9f the tournament in anyway. The same is applicable this season,  I think making it to the knock out stages is the real deal. I think  the same thing will happen this season. Arsenal at the top have been favourites for the past three to four weeks but all these will finally change if they don't thrive in the next round. PSG are also a team to not underate again, they now have the experience and no longer considered farmers.

The knockout round matches are very important in the Champions League platform. We saw last season that Liverpool, who were at the top of the table, were eliminated from the Champions League after losing the Round of 16 match. This season, Arsenal will be at the top of the table, it is almost certain. But if they make a mistake in any match in the knockout round, it will not be possible for them to win the title.

Arsenal is very strong this season compared to any previous season. They have been able to build a stable squad. Players in both the attack and defense positions are able to perform well. This is why the top spot in the Champions League and Premier League tables is occupied by Arsenal.

But winning the Champions League title is very difficult. Even if they do well in the first round, many big teams stumble in the knockout round. Because every team that qualified for the Round of 16 is almost equally strong. It is impossible to give a quick and sure prediction about which team will win the Champions League title.

Of course, winning the Champions League is very difficult, just ask the owners of Manchester City or PSG how many years and billions of dollars they had to invest to achieve that goal.  
Being good in the Champions League group stage really is not a guarantee of ultimately winning the Champions League.  
PSG struggled a lot in the group stage last season, yet in the end, they convincingly won the Champions League.  
Arsenal is a very good team and surely have a chance to win the Champions League, but the competition is fierce, the tournament is very unpredictable, and everything is still open.  
The experience of winning the Champions League takes a lot of pressure off the players and gives them confidence, which was clearly seen with Real Madrid players in recent seasons.

[giammangiato]

Of course, winning the Champions League is very difficult, just ask the owners of Manchester City or PSG how many years and billions of dollars they had to invest to achieve that goal.  
Being good in the Champions League group stage really is not a guarantee of ultimately winning the Champions League.  
PSG struggled a lot in the group stage last season, yet in the end, they convincingly won the Champions League.  
Arsenal is a very good team and surely have a chance to win the Champions League, but the competition is fierce, the tournament is very unpredictable, and everything is still open.  
The experience of winning the Champions League takes a lot of pressure off the players and gives them confidence, which was clearly seen with Real Madrid players in recent seasons.

It's not just about investment, there are teams like Liverpool for example who have spent a lot of money, but for obvious reasons they are not achieving the desired results.
Investment in teams is certainly important, but if there is a lack of heart in the team, spirit, cohesion, players, coaches, you will never achieve optimal results.
I really admire PSG's work this season and although I'm not sure Arsenal will handle the pressure yet.
When they play (in almost every game) I see a united team, maybe it's just my personal feeling, but I see them on the pitch as a group of friends.

[IceLincoln]

<...>

To me, being at the top of the league phase is almost useless. Qualifying for the next round is all that matters. That is where real business happens. I think you people remember how PSG performed last season during the league phase and how the likes of Liverpool had an almost 100% win record.
PSG had to even go for Knockout playoffs and guess who ended up being the champion? 

Yeah this kind of stories happen, just like the one of Spain and Argentina  winning the World Cup after losing their first game to a lesser team who everyone thought was easy target. These are football Cinematic stories, but they don’t happen often. So it’s better to see your team doing well than not. Even with Liverpool leaving the UCL they went on to win the EPL, also reached the finals of the FA Cup.
So no matter what current form matters a lot.

[Franctoshi]

Of course, winning the Champions League is very difficult, just ask the owners of Manchester City or PSG how many years and billions of dollars they had to invest to achieve that goal.  
Being good in the Champions League group stage really is not a guarantee of ultimately winning the Champions League.  
PSG struggled a lot in the group stage last season, yet in the end, they convincingly won the Champions League.  
Arsenal is a very good team and surely have a chance to win the Champions League, but the competition is fierce, the tournament is very unpredictable, and everything is still open.  
The experience of winning the Champions League takes a lot of pressure off the players and gives them confidence, which was clearly seen with Real Madrid players in recent seasons.

It's not just about investment, there are teams like Liverpool for example who have spent a lot of money, but for obvious reasons they are not achieving the desired results.
Investment in teams is certainly important, but if there is a lack of heart in the team, spirit, cohesion, players, coaches, you will never achieve optimal results.
I really admire PSG's work this season and although I'm not sure Arsenal will handle the pressure yet.
When they play (in almost every game) I see a united team, maybe it's just my personal feeling, but I see them on the pitch as a group of friends.

You're right, but investment in the right players in the first place is the very first step to begin with, and every other thing is secondary when you want to achieve the Champions League trophy 🏆 as a target. Yes, there may not be the spirit and the heart of certain players, but not all the players. But I doubt if that's just the reason why Liverpool, you cited as an example, is in bad form. A lot of things happen beyond human control or reasoning, where everything is just fine but the team will fail. Look at PSG  before now; they had everything it takes to lift the Champions League trophy then, even  when they had the trio of Mbappé, Neymar, and Messi. But they failed several times.

[babo]

It's not just about investment, there are teams like Liverpool for example who have spent a lot of money, but for obvious reasons they are not achieving the desired results.
Investment in teams is certainly important, but if there is a lack of heart in the team, spirit, cohesion, players, coaches, you will never achieve optimal results.
I really admire PSG's work this season and although I'm not sure Arsenal will handle the pressure yet.
When they play (in almost every game) I see a united team, maybe it's just my personal feeling, but I see them on the pitch as a group of friends.

The point is that investments need to be made well, otherwise you're just throwing money away.
There are those who buy a lot of players, without being able to get them to play together (the old PSG)
there are those who buy the coaches (Juventus, lol)
there are those who buy everything (Saudi)

[Qhunman]

But you're also right because being at the top of the table doesn't guarantee that we will win the Champions League, as PSG experienced last season. Yes, at that time I also didn't expect PSG to win. And now I'm also curious whether there will be another team that will surprise us or not. Do you think there will be another surprise team like last season?

here is no guarantee of winning anything, but is puts you in a winning position that always manages to put you on a higher level than the others, now we need to understand if PSG can really have the situation under control, I'm also curious to know if they will surprise us

PSG can surprise us this season, that was exactly how they performed last season. PSG has a tough start last season, but in the end, they won it against all odds and they can actually win it again for a second time. I can be certain if it could happen again since this season is fiercer and tougher than last but PSG is a team that shouldn't be undestimated. This time,PSG will qualify for the round of 16, then we might guess who wins it in the end.

[1kodumtek7]

Now there is a month to go before the next round matches in the Champions League. Thankfully the remaining rounds are going to be consecutively without a break. But still a break this long in league phase is just nonsense...

Anyways it looks like the 24th finisher of this season will be able to make it to qualification playoffs with less points than last season. It was 11 points back then and now it is likely to go down to a level around 9 points.  

[Frankolala]

Now there is a month to go before the next round matches in the Champions League. Thankfully the remaining rounds are going to be consecutively without a break. But still a break this long in league phase is just nonsense...

Anyways it looks like the 24th finisher of this season will be able to make it to qualification playoffs with less points than last season. It was 11 points back then and now it is likely to go down to a level around 9 points.  

I don't think that the long break is nonsense because domestic leagues are on. It's the same clubs playing in domestic leagues that are still participating in the Champions League. I know that you are eager to see the actions and excitement from the upcoming matches before the knockout stage. Take a chill pill.

[Ale88]

<...>

To me, being at the top of the league phase is almost useless. Qualifying for the next round is all that matters. That is where real business happens. I think you people remember how PSG performed last season during the league phase and how the likes of Liverpool had an almost 100% win record.
PSG had to even go for Knockout playoffs and guess who ended up being the champion? 

I agree with you. Being at the top of the qualification stage is only good for the finances (because teams get several millions for each win) and for the statistics, that's it. Also let's not forget that this stage is played in the first half of the season and sometimes we have teams that perform extremely well for 4-5 months and then, when things get serious, they just melt like snow under the sun because they can't handle the pressure or maybe their physical preparation is not working anymore.

[GbitG]

Of course, winning the Champions League is very difficult, just ask the owners of Manchester City or PSG how many years and billions of dollars they had to invest to achieve that goal.  
Being good in the Champions League group stage really is not a guarantee of ultimately winning the Champions League.  
PSG struggled a lot in the group stage last season, yet in the end, they convincingly won the Champions League.  
Arsenal is a very good team and surely have a chance to win the Champions League, but the competition is fierce, the tournament is very unpredictable, and everything is still open.  
The experience of winning the Champions League takes a lot of pressure off the players and gives them confidence, which was clearly seen with Real Madrid players in recent seasons.

It's not just about investment, there are teams like Liverpool for example who have spent a lot of money, but for obvious reasons they are not achieving the desired results.
Investment in teams is certainly important, but if there is a lack of heart in the team, spirit, cohesion, players, coaches, you will never achieve optimal results.
I really admire PSG's work this season and although I'm not sure Arsenal will handle the pressure yet.
When they play (in almost every game) I see a united team, maybe it's just my personal feeling, but I see them on the pitch as a group of friends.

Hmmm, that makes sense!!!
Obviously the UEFA Champions League is quite a competitive tussle, like we can't predict the winner. In the past few years, many teams have been getting a push for the title race, and even all of them have a  same squad depth and same performance. So that's why we can't speculate on the winner. Before, when we had Messi and Ronaldo then everyone was picking them as winners, like their team because these two had the strong capacity to win the title for his team but now we didn't have these kind players. So we considered all as average....

Anyway, I think this time few team are looking good like their probility of winning is higher than others such Manchester city, Barcelona, Bayren Munich, PSG Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Let's see what happens next.

[Emitdama]

There are many strong teams with good performances in the champions league and we are still in the group stages so we can't be so sure who's gonna win the trophy. Predicting a winner now will be too hasty because of how the competition's knock out round can be, so many unpredictable outcomes will happen in the round of 16, quarter final and the semi final. Even the low performing teams can turn things around and perform better.
Arsenal is strong as well as Bayern Munich but during the final games of the competition we will see how strong other teams can be and be surprised by their performance. Manchester City might as well go on to win the trophy but they won't find it easy at all. Even Chelsea and Inter shouldn't be underrated.

Group stages and knockout are completely different level competition because here mostly clubs are preparing for having their best and also working on their strategy which will help them for having positive outcome but in knockout they are well aware about consequences of doing any experiment.

Even now many clubs are doing good job and having enough space for staying into hunt for title still it's too early about their chances two big clubs are suddenly having problems while few outsiders can give surprising performance, this is always on cards currently nothing is predictable even Manchester City giving amazing stuff and their recent performance giving impact of their strong presence and chance of win this season. Arsenal is strong, but they always chock near end of season Real Madrid is doing good, but they are also facing issues just because of this form is not good, and they are also lacking confidence.

[el kaka22]

Beating every single team in group stage doesn't guarantee anything for the rest, you can have eight wins in a row at group and you will still not be guaranteed to win the league. Group stage is just a way to put which team to which position and that's it, there is nothing to be gained from there. Even top eight and top twenty four doesn't change much, because it gives you only one less game to lose but you can still lose.

I would suggest that it's the later stages that have any meaning at all. PSG was the greatest example of that and we will not need any more examples of it further than that, as long as you can see how PSG did last year at group and then went ahead and won, you can see group doesn't matter at all.

[Stablexcoin]

PSG can surprise us this season, that was exactly how they performed last season. PSG has a tough start last season, but in the end, they won it against all odds and they can actually win it again for a second time. I can be certain if it could happen again since this season is fiercer and tougher than last but PSG is a team that shouldn't be undestimated. This time,PSG will qualify for the round of 16, then we might guess who wins it in the end.

PSG are not on the same level like they were last season, their performance dropped some meters away. Predicting on the winner right away is a tough prediction to put on the line, all the teams at the top are looking favorable, this league phase isn't were we decide who is more capable or better opportuned to win the title, round of 16 has so much to tell, at this level, the smallest team that made it, might be the team to knock out any of the big clubs that seem to be a lot favorable as the Champions League winners.

My guess for the Champions isn't on PSG, although they stand a chance to compete, but Bayern Munich and Arsenal are ahead, not because they are top of the table but they have a better team work than other clubs, Arsenal with the best defense and Bayern having a better attack, that makes them seem kind of unstoppable for the title.

[Nheer]

Now there is a month to go before the next round matches in the Champions League. Thankfully the remaining rounds are going to be consecutively without a break. But still a break this long in league phase is just nonsense...

Anyways it looks like the 24th finisher of this season will be able to make it to qualification playoffs with less points than last season. It was 11 points back then and now it is likely to go down to a level around 9 points.  

The break is not nonsense it can be useful for the players because every break now is very important because of the number of games played weekly they need the rest they can have so for players it's not nonsense although for the fans we won't like it because of the excitement of champions league going for the long break means no champions league fun games for us.

It's always like this even before the league phase, after the group stage the champions league take a break for while before the knockout phase starts. Every season the intensity differs so the performance of teams also differs and so the points also differs but that doesn't mean the competition is less competitive or less exciting.

I just can't wait for the knockout phase to commence, it's the most interesting phase of the competition where we see the best teams face each other and eliminate themselves.

[Mame89]

To me, being at the top of the league phase is almost useless. Qualifying for the next round is all that matters. That is where real business happens. I think you people remember how PSG performed last season during the league phase and how the likes of Liverpool had an almost 100% win record.
PSG had to even go for Knockout playoffs and guess who ended up being the champion? 

Being at the top of the league actually has its advantages, as it offers the potential to face weaker teams in the knockout stages. However if a strong team has to fight through a play-off, being at the top of the league is useless, as they could potentially meet in the knockout stages as happened last season when several strong teams had to fight through play-offs to advance to the round of 16 including PSG who ultimately won the title.

This is the interesting thing about the latest UCL statistics big teams sometimes struggle to finish in the top 8, ultimately ending up in the play-offs. Because of their busy schedules they lack focus at the start of the season but in the knockout stages they give their best. So there's some truth to what you said qualifying for the next round is paramount. In the current league stage it's not a benchmark for the top team to win the UCL trophy at the end of the competition.

[l99l]

PSG can surprise us this season, that was exactly how they performed last season. PSG has a tough start last season, but in the end, they won it against all odds and they can actually win it again for a second time. I can be certain if it could happen again since this season is fiercer and tougher than last but PSG is a team that shouldn't be undestimated. This time,PSG will qualify for the round of 16, then we might guess who wins it in the end.

PSG are not on the same level like they were last season, their performance dropped some meters away. Predicting on the winner right away is a tough prediction to put on the line, all the teams at the top are looking favorable, this league phase isn't were we decide who is more capable or better opportuned to win the title, round of 16 has so much to tell, at this level, the smallest team that made it, might be the team to knock out any of the big clubs that seem to be a lot favorable as the Champions League winners.

My guess for the Champions isn't on PSG, although they stand a chance to compete, but Bayern Munich and Arsenal are ahead, not because they are top of the table but they have a better team work than other clubs, Arsenal with the best defense and Bayern having a better attack, that makes them seem kind of unstoppable for the title.

This new league stage doesn't really give much of a clue as to who will be champion. Last season, PSG didn't beat every team in the league stage and suffered many defeats.
Their progress improved after reaching the group stage.Looking at PSG's overall game, I also think they're slightly worse than they should be. Besides Bayern Munich and Arsenal, there are other good contenders for the championship.
I think we can also include Manchester City there.

[EL MOHA]

Beating every single team in group stage doesn't guarantee anything for the rest, you can have eight wins in a row at group and you will still not be guaranteed to win the league. Group stage is just a way to put which team to which position and that's it, there is nothing to be gained from there. Even top eight and top twenty four doesn't change much, because it gives you only one less game to lose but you can still lose.

I would suggest that it's the later stages that have any meaning at all. PSG was the greatest example of that and we will not need any more examples of it further than that, as long as you can see how PSG did last year at group and then went ahead and won, you can see group doesn't matter at all.

You are absolutely right, wining all your group stages matches can't guarantee you that you can win the trophy because currently I think Arsenal are unbeaten in the Champions League group stage and I think the remaining two matches that remains to play i get the believe that Arsenal will win it and win all the matches in the group and qualify for the next stage and that is the place that will show if you are good or note because that will be the knockout stage if you lose you are eliminated easily.

Everyone knows how Arsenal usually perform and we can says that after the group stage matches the round 16th Arsenal can probably be eliminated without even going to next stage so we can't predict the outcome currently we need to see how things will be after the group stage and round 16th matches that is when we will predict who can probably get the chance to win the Champions League trophy this season.

[BitBakerr1]

But you're also right because being at the top of the table doesn't guarantee that we will win the Champions League, as PSG experienced last season. Yes, at that time I also didn't expect PSG to win. And now I'm also curious whether there will be another team that will surprise us or not. Do you think there will be another surprise team like last season?

here is no guarantee of winning anything, but is puts you in a winning position that always manages to put you on a higher level than the others, now we need to understand if PSG can really have the situation under control, I'm also curious to know if they will surprise us

PSG can surprise us this season, that was exactly how they performed last season. PSG has a tough start last season, but in the end, they won it against all odds and they can actually win it again for a second time. I can be certain if it could happen again since this season is fiercer and tougher than last but PSG is a team that shouldn't be undestimated. This time,PSG will qualify for the round of 16, then we might guess who wins it in the end.

Yes I agree with you PSG is not a team that should be underestimated because they are very strong and they play very well one thing I like about PSG since last season is their determination and strength but I don't see any possibility of them lifting the Champions League title the second time this season because there are more stronger team in the league right now, however if they should manage and get to the final then I believe they will lift it so let's just watch and see how it goes, but for me the clubs I think may lift this champions league title are Barcelona, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, these three Club are the clubs I think will lift the Champions League title this season.

[pawel7777]

What do you guys think about betting against Arsenal to win the league stage of the UCL?
They are currently 3 points ahead Bayern and 5 ahead of 3rd PSG/Man City/Atalanta with two rounds to go.

The next games for Arsenal are:
Inter (away)
Kairat (home)

For Bayern:
Union Saint-Gilloise (home)
PSV (away)

I'm not including PSG/Man City/Atalanta, as I don't expect Arsenal could lose to Kairat, even if they played with a reserve squad. So it will be between Arsenal and Bayern.

The odds for Bayern to win the group stage are x10 per Polymarket, but 2up.io currently offers a much better rate: x15.0:

[irhact]

It is true that if they are at the top of the table, they will not get any extra facilities in the next round. The teams in the 1-8th place in the points table will play directly in the round of 16 and the teams in the 9-24th place will qualify for the playoffs. Last season, PSG qualified for the playoffs with great difficulty. Even then, they managed to win the title. I am not saying that the same thing will happen this season. However, the three giant teams like Barcelona, ​​Liverpool and Chelsea are now outside the top 8 of the table. These three teams will also fight their best for the Champions League title. I would even consider Barcelona as the hot favorite in this season of the Champions League. Compared to the beginning of the season, the Barcelona team is now quite stable and strong.

Fair point about the format, finishing top does not give extra advantages beyond direct qualification to the round of 16. what really matters is form at the knockout stage, as last season clearly showed with PSG. also being outside the top 8 adds pressure because the playoffs increase the risk of an early exit but the teams you mentioned: Barca, Chelsea, Liverpool definitely have the quality and experience to go all the way.