Champions League: These are the opponents BVB is looking forward to facing in the group stage | OneFootball

Everything was on the line at the draw in Monaco. The four home and four away opponents for the 2026–27 season have now been determined. UEFA will announce the exact dates of the matches by Saturday. Today, Thursday, former star strikers Thierry Henry and David Villa began by drawing the opponents for all 36 participating teams.

BVB already faced three of its eight opponents last year: At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, BVB will once again take on Inter Milan and Villarreal CF—and these two matchups cannot be repeated next year—and will also face FK Bodø/Glimt from Norway again, though this time on the road. The other home opponents are Real Betis from Seville and AEK Athens—both of which will be first-time opponents! Away from home, Borussia will face Bodø/Glimt, as well as Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Sabah FK in Azerbaijan.

Home Opponents

Inter MilanThe 21-time Italian champions have reached the Champions League final twice in the past four seasons. Inter has won the trophy three times (most recently in 2010), but suffered a surprising defeat last season in the Round of 16 against Bodø/Glimt—a team that shocked more than just BVB. BVB lost the head-to-head match against Inter 0–2. There will be a reunion with Manuel Akanji and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Real BetisReal Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis for short or simply Betis—that’s the name of Spain’s 1935 champion and three-time cup winner. Their greatest international achievement was reaching the final of the 2025 UEFA Conference League. Former Borussia player Marc Bartra (pictured) played a key role in helping the team finish fifth in La Liga last season, thereby qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in the club’s history. BVB has not yet faced Betis in a head-to-head match.

FC VillarrealThe second Spanish opponent—which finished third last year—comes from Pot 3, even though it made a splash internationally by winning the 2021 UEFA Europa League and reaching the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League the following year. In last season’s league campaign, however, “the Yellow Submarine” finished in 35th place with just one point earned. At SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, BVB won 4-0.

AEK AthensBorussia Dortmund has signed two Greek players, Konstantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias—and will now face the 14-time Greek champions for the first time. AEK Athens prevailed over Levski Sofia in the playoffs and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the eighth time. The best-known player in the AEK squad in Germany is former Frankfurt player Luka Jović.

The Away Opponents

Arsenal FCDuring last season’s preseason, BVB defeated the Gunners in the Emirates Cup. The most recent of eight Champions League matchups (record: three wins, one draw, four losses) took place twelve years ago. Arsenal, featuring former Dortmund player and World Cup champion Mikel Merino (pictured), recently celebrated its first English league title since 2004 (its 14th overall) and was the only (!) team last season not to lose a single match in the Champions League (including eight wins in the group stage). Nevertheless, the title went to Paris because PSG won the final in a penalty shootout.

Aston VillaFormer Borussia Dortmund player Ian Maatsen wears the jersey of one of the oldest English clubs of all time, which Borussia Dortmund will face for the first time in European competition. Aston Villa is a founding member of both the Football League (1888) and the Premier League (1992). Seven-time league champions (most recently in 1981), seven-time cup winners (most recently in 1957). The club won the European Cup in 1982 and the UEFA Europa League in 2026 (3–0 against Freiburg).

FK Bodø/GlimtNorway’s champion in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024, currently leads the Eliteserien standings and is set to make its second appearance in the UEFA Champions League. The first was a whirlwind run. After finishing 23rd in the league stage (including a 2–2 draw in Dortmund), the team defeated Inter Milan 3–1 and 2–1 in the round of 16 playoffs; in the round of 16, the club fell to Sporting CP of Lisbon 0–5 in extra time after a 3–0 victory in the first leg. The match will be played at Aspmyra Stadium in front of 7,896 spectators on artificial turf. Due to the team’s colors, Borussia will have to wear their alternate jerseys.

Sabah FKAfter a 1-2 first-leg loss in the playoffs against Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the club—founded in 2017 and which won its first championship in 2026—came back from two deficits to prevail 5-2 in extra time. It typically plays its international home games at the Tofiq Bəhramov Stadium in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, where BVB has also played before (against Qarabagh in 2010).

The results of the league-phase matches will be incorporated into a combined standings table for all 36 participants. The clubs that occupy one of the top eight spots after eight matchdays qualify directly for the knockout round, which begins with the round of 16. For the teams in the bottom twelve spots (25 through 36), the European Cup season ends in late January. The teams ranked 9th through 24th will compete in the play-offs for the round of 16 to determine eight additional participants for that stage. In these play-offs, teams immediately above or below each other in the standings are paired together. A draw will then only determine, for example, whether the ninth-place team faces the club in 23rd or 24th place (which in turn determines the opponent for the club in 10th place).

UEFA plans to announce the schedule by Saturday, August 29, at the latest.

Match dates for the league phase

Matchday 1: September 8–10, 2026 (Tue–Thu) Matchday 2: October 13–14, 2026 (Tue/Wed) Matchday 3: October 20–21, 2026 (Tue/Wed) Matchday 4: November 3–4, 2026 (Tue/Wed) Matchday 5: November 24–25, 2026 (Tue/Wed) Matchday 6: December 8–9, 2026 (Tue/Wed) Matchday 7: January 19–20, 2027 (Tue/Wed) Matchday 8: January 27, 2027 (Wed)Compiled by Boris Rupert