The 2025-26 European club competitions took shape this week as the draws for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League league phases were completed, determining the road ahead for England's representatives across all three tournaments.
In the Champions League, statistical analysis using Opta's power rankings — which rate 16,000 teams worldwide on a single scale — has identified Manchester City as facing the toughest task among Premier League sides. Enzo Maresca, taking charge of City's European campaign for the first time following Pep Guardiola's departure after 11 years at the helm, will pit his side against opponents with an average rating of 91.7, the sixth-most difficult schedule in the entire competition. City were drawn against both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain from the top seeding pot, and further face Napoli, the 34th-ranked team globally, from pot three.
Aston Villa also landed Barcelona and PSG from pot one, setting up a repeat of last season's dramatic quarter-final, when Villa won the second leg 3-2 at Villa Park but exited on a 5-4 aggregate defeat. Unai Emery's side, which has undergone considerable squad turnover this summer, also received the toughest possible pairing from pot two in Borussia Dortmund and Club Brugge.
Manchester United, returning to Europe's top competition for the first time since a difficult 2023-24 campaign that ended with four defeats in six matches and a bottom-of-group finish, were drawn against Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid from pot one, alongside Como, the most challenging available option from pot four. Additional fixtures against Sporting CP and Roma add further difficulty to what is regarded as a demanding, though not the harshest, draw.
By contrast, Liverpool emerged with the most favorable schedule among Premier League clubs, with opponents averaging a 90.0 rating — the ninth-easiest draw overall. The Reds avoided Europe's traditional powerhouses, instead facing Atlético Madrid and Inter as their pot-one opponents. Arsenal's draw was mixed: while they must face Bayern Munich away and Real Madrid at home, alongside Dortmund, they were paired with the two lowest-ranked teams in the entire competition, Sabah and Slovan Bratislava, at the other end of their schedule.
Meanwhile, three Premier League clubs learned their fate in the Europa League following Friday's draw in Monaco. Crystal Palace, entering the competition under new manager Pierre Sage after Oliver Glasner's move to Nottingham Forest, received what is widely seen as the most demanding draw of the trio. The Eagles, last season's Conference League champions, will face Real Sociedad at home and travel to Lyon — a fixture with added significance given John Textor's previous ownership ties to both clubs, which contributed to Palace's demotion from last season's Europa League. Palace also drew Sparta Prague and Lech Poznan at Selhurst Park, plus away trips to Red Bull Salzburg, Besiktas and Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Sunderland, competing in Europe for the first time since 1973, will travel to face seven-time European champions AC Milan at the San Siro, one of four away fixtures that also includes a trip to Portuguese Cup winners Torreense, who stunned Sporting CP in May but must play home matches in Faro due to stadium restrictions. The Black Cats will host AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Zagreb, Jagiellonia and Levski Sofia.
Bournemouth, also making their European debut, host Milan at the Vitality Stadium and travel to Real Sociedad among their eight fixtures, along with clashes against Viktoria Plzen, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz, Celta Vigo, Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Lillestrom.
In the Conference League, Brighton stand as the lone Premier League club, drawn at home to Monaco, Craiova and Zalgiris, with away fixtures against Panathinaikos, Getafe and Jablonec.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football, BBC Sport and Standard Sport.