Champions League Match-up: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to square off against Barcelona and Bayern Munich in a challenging lineup

Champions League Match-up: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to square off against Barcelona and Bayern Munich in a challenging lineup

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw: Exciting Matchups Ahead

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw has been made, and football fans are in for a treat as some exciting matchups have been set for the upcoming season.

Real Madrid, the reigning champions, will once again face Juventus, a repeat of their 2017 final win. In addition, they will take on French opponents Marseille and Monaco. The Spanish giants also received a challenging draw, including a trip to Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan.

Manchester City, on the other hand, will face Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Villarreal, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, Newcastle, and Kopenhagen in the tournament phase. City will travel north of the Arctic Circle to face Bodo/Glimt of Norway, and host former fan favorite Kevin De Bruyne with his new club Napoli.

Paris Saint-Germain's group stage opponents include Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, and Sporting Lisbon. Their easiest opponents, in theory, are Newcastle and Athletic Bilbao.

Tottenham Hotspur, the Europa League champion, will play Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage. Real Madrid will host Manchester City, which it beat in the knockout playoffs last season, and will return to Liverpool after losing 2-0 at Anfield in the league phase last year.

Liverpool fans will welcome Trent Alexander-Arnold back to Anfield with Real Madrid, and have away trips to Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Marseille, and Galatasaray. Inter Milan, which lost two of the last three finals, will host Liverpool and Arsenal in the group stage. Inter beat Arsenal at the San Siro last season.

Four newcomers to the Champions League main stage are Bodo/Glimt, Kairat Almaty, Pafos, and Belgian champion Union Saint-Gilloise. Bodo plays on a heated artificial turf field, while Kairat will host Club Brugge, Olympiakos, and Pafos in the group stage. Games in Bodo and Almaty are expected to be the longest-ever trips for visiting teams, with their home games in January among the coldest in competition history.

Teams are seeded based on their ranking over five seasons of results in UEFA competitions. Retired great Zlatan Ibrahimovic and former Ballon d'Or winner Kaka participated in the Champions League draw.

The final league phase matchday is on January 28, with all 36 teams playing in 18 games simultaneously. This promises to be an exciting season of football, and fans are eagerly awaiting the action to begin.