Arsenal have been handed a brutal Champions League league-phase draw, with the Premier League champions set for blockbuster clashes against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in a campaign packed with heavyweight European battles.
The Gunners, last season’s beaten finalists, will welcome Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund to the Emirates, while travelling to Bayern Munich and Napoli as they chase a place among the competition’s top eight automatic qualifiers.
Arsenal’s other fixtures are against Real Betis, Lille, Slavia Prague and Sabah.
The London giants topped the league phase with a perfect record last season before their title charge ultimately ended in heartbreak in the final. They now face another formidable route if they are to go one step further and lift European football’s biggest prize.
Manchester City have also been thrown into the deep end, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona among their opponents.
City will host holders PSG before travelling to Barcelona, while Napoli, Sporting CP, Porto, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens complete their schedule.
For Aston Villa, there will be a painful reunion with PSG after the French giants defeated them 2-1 in the recent Super Cup in Salzburg.
Villa will host the defending champions, while also travelling to Barcelona and Galatasaray and facing Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Viking and Slavia Prague.
Liverpool, meanwhile, face a European heavyweight showdown of their own against Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
The Reds will travel to Inter and host Atletico, while their remaining opponents are FC Porto, Club Brugge, Villarreal, Fenerbahce, Lens and LASK.
Manchester United have also been handed a demanding assignment, with Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Roma among their headline opponents.
United will travel to Atletico, host Bayern and Roma, and face Sporting CP, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Sabah and Como in their remaining fixtures.
Champions League League-Phase Fixtures
Arsenal: Real Madrid (H), Bayern Munich (A), Borussia Dortmund (H), Real Betis (A), Lille (H), Napoli (A), Sabah (H), Slavia Prague (A).
Aston Villa: Barcelona (A), PSG (H), Borussia Dortmund (H), Club Brugge (A), Fenerbahce (H), Galatasaray (A), Viking (H), Slavia Prague (A).
Liverpool: Inter Milan (A), Atletico Madrid (H), FC Porto (H), Club Brugge (A), Villarreal (H), Fenerbahce (A), Lens (H), LASK (A).
Manchester City: PSG (H), Barcelona (A), Sporting CP (H), Porto (A), Napoli (H), RB Leipzig (A), AEK Athens (H), Lens (A).
Manchester United: Atletico Madrid (A), Bayern Munich (H), Roma (H), Sporting CP (A), RB Leipzig (H), Villarreal (A), Sabah (H), Como (A).
The battle begins on September 8, with the first six rounds running through December before the league phase resumes in January.
The eighth and final round will be played on January 27, when the European giants will discover who has survived the marathon and who has been left staring at an early exit.
The stakes are unforgiving.
The top eight teams in the final standings will march directly into the round of 16 in March. Teams finishing ninth to 24th will be forced into February’s knockout play-offs, where they will fight for the remaining eight round-of-16 places.
Those finishing 25th to 36th will be dumped out of the competition altogether.
The expanded format will also welcome four newcomers to the Champions League main draw: Como of Italy, coached by former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Austria’s LASK, Norway’s Viking and Azerbaijani champions Sabah, founded only in 2017.
History will also be made with an African coach leading a team into the Champions League main draw.
Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure guided Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava through their qualifying play-off on Wednesday, opening a new chapter in the competition for African coaching representation.
With Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan scattered across the fixtures, the new Champions League campaign is already shaping up as a European heavyweight war.
And for Arsenal, City, Liverpool, United and Villa, there will be little room for mistakes.
