UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Furious 7]

After seeing Real Madrid losing against Getafe yesterday for LaLiga game i start to think more and more that this Real Madrid is not gonna have a single chance of lifting this Champions League, the only for what they are still alive here is because they are Real Madrid and we all know what this means in this competition, but for how they play they deserve to be out.

Currently Madrid still has very difficult problems to control in terms of performance compounded by injuries to several players making it even harder for them to maintain consistency which causes momentum to be lost.

However their chances of advancing to the Round of 16 remain intact as Manchester City is also currently facing similar problems albeit not as severe as Madrid's. Nevertheless Manchester City's finishing is still lacking due to their weak attacking buildup meaning both clubs could still compete for a spot in the Round of 16.

This season's bracket is almost identical to Madrid's 2024 bracket as besides Manchester City they could also face Bayern if they advance to the quarterfinals.In the 2024 season their performance was also inconsistent but they managed to defeat City and Bayern. Therefore there is still a glimmer of hope that they can replicate that success.

[CLS63]

I'm really curious about what Real Madrid will do against Manchester City this time. By the way this must be the most common draw we have seen in the Champions League in the recent years.

This time Real Madrid doesn't have an experienced manager like Ancelotti. They might have had a good chance with Xabi Alonso if he was given time. But they chose to move on with Arbeloa. This doesn't look good for them as a result but we will see.

[Felicity_Tide]

To be fair I struggle to understand the way Chelsea were built. They have a weird team, they keep buying a bunch of players every year, many of them get loaned out to their satellite teams, then maybe they come back, it's all very confusing. They have some excellent players playing next to some very average players. In situations like this I don't see the manager as the problem, the board should take responsibility.

Imo, I feel this very Chelsea team is still a project that needs to be worked on more. Of course, they have good and talented players that are currently doing well, but failing to admit that they're still trying to build the team, keeps leaving them in bad situations at all times. The Chelsea management has a huge problem, and the players as well. Changing managers every single time even when it looks like you're almost getting it right, doesn't seem fair because it sometimes do have its own cons. Don't be surprised, some of these players are likely to be sold for a very cheap amount, after this season, and maybe the manager sacked as well.

If this imbalances continues, they might keep struggling in European competitions and the premier league. They're to face PSG soon, but with what has happened recently, I just can't back them on this. They have the qualities, but things are not just being managed properly.

[Italian Panic]

I'm really curious about what Real Madrid will do against Manchester City this time. By the way this must be the most common draw we have seen in the Champions League in the recent years.

This time Real Madrid doesn't have an experienced manager like Ancelotti. They might have had a good chance with Xabi Alonso if he was given time. But they chose to move on with Arbeloa. This doesn't look good for them as a result but we will see.

This time, Real Madrid will see what it means not to have an experienced manager like Carlo Ancelotti. Florentino Perez will realise that fired Xabi Alonso  was not a good idea. The Real Madrid team has nothing to envy of the one that won three consecutive Champions Leagues. Mbappé is like Cristiano Ronaldo, and the other players can be considered at the same level for those who have left, but do you know what's missing? In my opinion, they are missing players like Modric and Kroos... the most sensational thing, along with Xavi and Iniesta, that we have seen on a football pitch in the last 20 years!

[Dzwaafu11]

And Real Madrid's trophy target for this season, I estimate, is 65% unlikely to win any trophies, including the UEFA Champions League trophy. 2025/2026 is not the best season for Real Madrid and La Liga teams in the UEFA Champions League.

In fact, I predict that Real Madrid won't win any trophies this season, including the Champions League, due to their inconsistent performance. However, for La Liga teams in the Champions League, perhaps Barcelona has a chance to win a trophy, given their strong performance this season. Last season, Barcelona reached the Champions League semifinals, and it looks like they could reach the final and even win the trophy this season, provided Barcelona plays with a full squad, with no key players injured.

Real Madrid maybe trophy-less this season, due to their performance. In the other hand, I can’t say Barcelona is going to get the champions league title, but you see that La liga I’m actually giving Barcelona high chance of winning the trophy. They are in their best performance. And already back to the top spot on the table.

they won’t want to do anything silly at the moment, they will keep marinating that spot. But Real Madrid, I can’t say much though, but I’m not expecting much from th.

[Dump3er]

Real Madrid maybe trophy-less this season, due to their performance. In the other hand, I can’t say Barcelona is going to get the champions league title, but you see that La liga I’m actually giving Barcelona high chance of winning the trophy. They are in their best performance. And already back to the top spot on the table.

they won’t want to do anything silly at the moment, they will keep marinating that spot. But Real Madrid, I can’t say much though, but I’m not expecting much from th.

Nobody needs a crystal ball to tell that Barcelona may not win the UCL. If Atletico can send them home in Copa del Rey, the other teams in the UCL can send them home. What is so bitter in knockout stages for stronger teams and sweet for weaker teams is that one perfect game can allow weaker teams to advance. See the first leg in Copa del Rey, Atletico almost scored with every shot they made on the goal. But that is not how it usually works, any team would need a perfect day for that.

It is not always like that though. When Barcelona won 3:0 back when they played Liverpool, nobody was betting on Liverpool anymore and yet they did the impossible. Especially against Atletico losing the first game is tough because you know what's waiting in the second leg.

In the UCL however I think that Barcelona will be awake. I don't think they would get smashed like that again and would come into the game with much higher awareness.

In my opinion is it absolutely unpredictable who will win it this year. Last year PSG seemed to be on their own level, but regardless of that they had their closer moments like any other team.

[Asiska02]

I'm really curious about what Real Madrid will do against Manchester City this time. By the way this must be the most common draw we have seen in the Champions League in the recent years.

This time Real Madrid doesn't have an experienced manager like Ancelotti. They might have had a good chance with Xabi Alonso if he was given time. But they chose to move on with Arbeloa. This doesn't look good for them as a result but we will see.

I also feel Real Madrid lacked patient when they sacked Xabi Alonso. After sacking him and bringing in a new manager, their performance is yet to be changed and hasn’t reflected as to them being a better team than they were under Xabi Alonso. Alonso has what it takes to actually move Real Madrid to become better, but since they can’t wait patiently, they sacked him only when he was trying to put the team together.

With the good management we saw from Xabi Alonso when he was at Bayern Leverkusen, I thought he could replicate it easily here. Since he was unable to do that immediately, he still showed signs of improvement that would have resulted in to a total change in the performance of club. Their matchup against Manchester City is one that they need a very smart and intelligent coach which I feel Arebola isn’t and would face hard time winning against Manchester City.

[Cossyblack]

Indeed, Barcelona has a great chance of winning the Champions League this season. They got very lucky with the draw, ending up in a fairly easy playoff bracket. Although this is the Champions League and any team can pull off a surprise — just like Bodo/Glimt did by knocking out Inter Milan, last year's finalist.

Barcelona are doing well in both the Uefa champions league and in their domestic league. Every teams who is currently playing in the champions league have a chances of winning it but just only one team out of them could win it.
However Barcelona didn't make it into my favourite list so there aren't among my favourite team that I am supporting to win the Uefa champions league. I'm underestimating them but I just don't think they can win this champions League.

[Ale88]

Erratic is probably a good word to describe Chelsea's performances. Even after changing the manager I don't see any change in this type of behaviors, every match can either be 1X2. And let's not forget that they are going to play two matches against PSG so maybe they may be able to obtain a positive result at home but I don't think they can actually make it through.

I thought Chelsea would do better under their new manager when they were winning matches by big goals difference but seeing how Chelsea's performance has declined lately, Chelsea is gradually returning to their old self, and I believe Chelsea might part ways with Liam Rosenior if Chelsea's performance doesn't change quickly. I believe Chelsea has a chance against PSG because of how PSG has been playing poorly for a long time now this season, and if we weigh both team performance in the Champions League this season, Chelsea should be the one to proceed to quarter final.

To be fair I struggle to understand the way Chelsea were built. They have a weird team, they keep buying a bunch of players every year, many of them get loaned out to their satellite teams, then maybe they come back, it's all very confusing. They have some excellent players playing next to some very average players. In situations like this I don't see the manager as the problem, the board should take responsibility.

Sorry to ask what is it you want from the board exactly? Like if we should talk of the board that act fast in the English premier league in terms of decision making i think the Chelsea board should come first in that so what more can you ask of them? Like they literally buy any player demanded by any of their manager so i don't really think the fault is coming from the board but the manager and the players the fact is they need to step up their game they've got some pretty good players that could have delivered the team in all aspects but they are failing in their job and you want to blame the board.

So every single manager Chelsea had during the last 10 years specifically asked the board to buy a bunch of random young players only to be loaned out in The Netherlands, France, Belgium, etc etc? You're pretty much telling me Chelsea are the only club in the world with all the managers asking to buy 30 players each market session in order to find the next star but they don't want them immediately in the team, they want to wait to see how they play in their satellite teams. Because that is what means "they literally buy any player demanded by any of their manager", your words. Is it like that then?

[Tamaperdana]

I'm really curious about what Real Madrid will do against Manchester City this time. By the way this must be the most common draw we have seen in the Champions League in the recent years.

This time Real Madrid doesn't have an experienced manager like Ancelotti. They might have had a good chance with Xabi Alonso if he was given time. But they chose to move on with Arbeloa. This doesn't look good for them as a result but we will see.

Manchester City is clearly a very tough opponent for Real Madrid at this time,, because, as we know, Real Madrid's current performance is really not good. Just yesterday in La Liga, Real Madrid lost to Getafe, which was clearly very embarrassing. So, when facing Manchester City,, Real Madrid will certainly have a harder time keeping up with Manchester City's game. So, this is clearly not a good thing for Real Madrid.

Furthermore,, speaking about the current coach, I also agree with you, if Xabi had been given a chance until now, I think it would have yielded good results. However, because Real Madrid's management seems to be more pro-player, Xabi has been cornered and chosen to leave. So, in essence, what is happening to Real Madrid right now is clearly not something good in the long term. So,, with this in mind, I personally don't have high hopes for Real Madrid in the Champions League this time.

[landheer]

Real Madrid maybe trophy-less this season, due to their performance. In the other hand, I can’t say Barcelona is going to get the champions league title, but you see that La liga I’m actually giving Barcelona high chance of winning the trophy. They are in their best performance. And already back to the top spot on the table.

they won’t want to do anything silly at the moment, they will keep marinating that spot. But Real Madrid, I can’t say much though, but I’m not expecting much from th.

real Madrid's declining performance has led many to speculate that they will struggle to win trophies in La Liga and the Champions League, as they were unexpectedly beaten by Getafe in La Liga. However, if Barcelona is currently on the rise, they could be favored to win La Liga

However, in the Champions League team performance can sometimes be different, and I think Real Madrid could bounce back because they have good players. If Arbeloa can develop a good strategy, I think Real Madrid could perform well in the upcoming matches. I think Real madrid will definitely win the Round of 16 match, as Arbeloa will certainly strive to improve Real Madrid's performance in the upcoming matches

[alankasman]

real Madrid's declining performance has led many to speculate that they will struggle to win trophies in La Liga and the Champions League, as they were unexpectedly beaten by Getafe in La Liga. However, if Barcelona is currently on the rise, they could be favored to win La Liga
However, in the Champions League team performance can sometimes be different, and I think Real Madrid could bounce back because they have good players. If Arbeloa can develop a good strategy, I think Real Madrid could perform well in the upcoming matches. I think Real madrid will definitely win the Round of 16 match, as Arbeloa will certainly strive to improve Real Madrid's performance in the upcoming matches

This is true because the UCL competition will be even more intense. With Real Madrid's result against Getafe it's understandable that everyone wants to clarify Real Madrid's drastic decline in performance. The main reason is their results so far which has made many less confident in their desire to win the UCL this season especially in the next round when they face their Premier League counterpart Manchester City.

That's right because guesses or predictions are always wrong which all parties do because sometimes once they accept defeat of course the team will immediately evaluate the mistakes they made so it's true like you said maybe in the future Real Madrid will come back strong with their best performance especially their mentality in winning the competition there is a chance but this year I think it's difficult especially against their opponent the team with the most goal productivity in the EPL competition this is what makes many parties increasingly doubt Real Madrid in winning the competition.

[landheer]

I'm really curious about what Real Madrid will do against Manchester City this time. By the way this must be the most common draw we have seen in the Champions League in the recent years.

This time Real Madrid doesn't have an experienced manager like Ancelotti. They might have had a good chance with Xabi Alonso if he was given time. But they chose to move on with Arbeloa. This doesn't look good for them as a result but we will see.

I can't wait to see that match because we'll definitely see an exciting competition between Real Madrid and Man City. I'm also curious about the strategies Arbeloa and Pep Guardiola will employ. Man City will definitely be a tough opponent for Real Madrid to beat, as they're currently performing well, consistently winning their matches.

Yes, this time around, Real Madrid isn't like previous seasons, when they had a more experienced coach. But Real Madrid certainly has a strong reason for choosing Arbeloa. We'll just have to see what happens. But I think I'll bet on that match because I think it's going to be difficult to predict, even though Real Madrid's current form isn't great.

[Futurexxx]

I can't wait to see that match because we'll definitely see an exciting competition between Real Madrid and Man City. I'm also curious about the strategies Arbeloa and Pep Guardiola will employ. Man City will definitely be a tough opponent for Real Madrid to beat, as they're currently performing well, consistently winning their matches.

I don't expect Manchester City under pep guardiola to change strategy because of any opponent you're up against, we have always known pep guardiola to be an attacking minded coach, so he is not going to change because of this game.

Yes, this time around, Real Madrid isn't like previous seasons, when they had a more experienced coach. But Real Madrid certainly has a strong reason for choosing Arbeloa. We'll just have to see what happens. .

In my own opinion, it's an outright winning for Manchester City even though nothing is guaranteed, because tactical wise, Arbeloa isn't on the same level or isn't close to level of pep guardiola.
So I believe that lack of experience will play an important role in this game, even though nothing is 100% certain, but if I may be gambling on this game, I will going with the option of Manchester City to progress to the next round of the competition over both legs, regardless of the team pep guardiola may features.

[pewboy]

It could have been a coincidence if it had happened once or even twice, we might have accepted it as a lucky accident. But when it happens every time, and they beat and score against very strong teams, I don’t think we can talk about coincidence anymore. They are an excellent European level team, ready to compete with any top club. I also doubt that they will go very far in the playoffs, but I’ll definitely be interested in following them.

These are matches that are always very interesting to follow and i believe that there are all the conditions to see a great match. Anyone who says they are not good matches does not understand anything, those who love football follow all the matches, and the top clubs always have to be afraid because they always sin of arrogance and then make mistakes.

[m4r1o]

You're not far from the truth, but the thing is, I will still not use the actions of the group stages. The champions league is of 2 different phase which we all know is of group stage phase and knockout phase, for me I have come to understand the competition, just as it has 2 different phase, the real teams has decided to do it in 2 different ways. Don't get too serious in the first phase, just make sure you qualify for the second phase and get serious from there. Don't be surprised that the big teams that were easily beaten in the group stages will turn around and play better if they happen to meet same opponent again in the next stage. Let's imagine that Manchester City meets Bodø again, there's a high chance that Bos will lose across both legs.

Yes, i think you're absolutely right. i have to say that the Champions League with this new format makes the first part of the tournament really very weak, where the teams seem to do the bare minimum to go and play everything in the second knockout phase. i have to say that you're absolutely right.

[giorgione]

The Premier League is a tough league and it keeps proving that, aside the normal big teams in the league Tottenham and Newcastle are the hotheads in the league form time to time they come up and shake things up but it’s good they’re also doing that in the champions league. This is why so many people say the Premier League is the best league in the world.
I’m most surprised by the performance of Tottenham Hotspur who qualified amongst the top 8, and are struggling in the league just as they did last season. Incredible and wonderful!.

Making predictions is a very difficult thing and i don't understand why there are so many people who make predictions and profess to be experts in a sport when in the end they can't do anything about it. Making a prediction is much more than just taking a result. Obviously this is a provocation. im sure that among us there is also someone who knows how to make predictions. The Premier League is a difficult championship.
I agree with you.

[verdinio]

Personally, I think Galatasaray will pose a serious threat to Liverpool, those guys are really in form expect if Liverpool brings in their A game before they can be able to overcome this Turkish side. As for Manchester City and Real Madrid, those those teams really will pose a serious threat to themselves and I'm not going to pick a side because both of them are capable of qualification but I don't know which of them will make. PSG I'm supporting again in this encounter with Chelsea. As for the other side, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will go through, Arsenal as well will beat Bayern Leverkusen. Sporting CP will not easily be gotten rid off but from what Bodø/Glimt has been playing so far, they stand a chance of going through as well.

I don't think Galatasaray are very strong as players, but they have plenty of determination, especially after they won against Juventus, they have every chance of winning against anyone, it's true that Juventus wasn't at a great level compared to a few years ago, but it must be said that they are still a very strong team.

[Uhde]

Personally, I think Galatasaray will pose a serious threat to Liverpool, those guys are really in form expect if Liverpool brings in their A game before they can be able to overcome this Turkish side. As for Manchester City and Real Madrid, those those teams really will pose a serious threat to themselves and I'm not going to pick a side because both of them are capable of qualification but I don't know which of them will make. PSG I'm supporting again in this encounter with Chelsea. As for the other side, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will go through, Arsenal as well will beat Bayern Leverkusen. Sporting CP will not easily be gotten rid off but from what Bodø/Glimt has been playing so far, they stand a chance of going through as well.

I don't think Galatasaray are very strong as players, but they have plenty of determination, especially after they won against Juventus, they have every chance of winning against anyone, it's true that Juventus wasn't at a great level compared to a few years ago, but it must be said that they are still a very strong team.

its for sure that this isn't a good draw for Liverpool either. They’ve pulled a very tricky opponent. Galatasaray is the kind of team that presses high, thrives on chaos and you never know how they’ll react. i bet the Liverpool players are already thinking, damn it, not Istanbul again... 

[changaa]

Galatasaray allowing Juventus to beat them with a one man down has just exposed how weak Galatasaray is when playing away match in the Champions League, and I do not think  if Victor Osimhen will be able to save them from the hands of Liverpool.

Osimhen is a threat if they give him the chance, it all depends on how Liverpool play, whether they play very attacking while neglecting the defence, or play conservatively trying not to get pressured much.
Galatasaray has every intention of winning considering the last few matches played and it will be a hard-fought match, i also think balanced from a performance point of view.