Champions League draw: Must-Travel-Games with Dortmund, Bayern Munich & Frankfurt

Now they are complete: the Champions League 2025/26 football trips, with the final on May 30, 2026 in Budapest as the dream destination. All 36 teams will kick off on September 16, 2025 with the first matchday of the league phase, introduced only last year. Among the four German clubs, BVB and FC Bayern were drawn with a mix of attractive and manageable opponents for their home games. It will be tougher for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. 

Our editorial team followed the league phase draw in Monaco with football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic on August 28, 2025.

Dortmund's first confirmed opponent was an old acquaintance: last year's finalist Inter Milan, who suffered a crushing defeat against PSG in the final in Munich (0:5 / event-breaks.com reported). BVB has home advantage against Inter.

But the other teams drawn for Borussia by world champion Kaká via the UEFA supercomputer are also worth a look.

Champions League football trips: BVB and Niklas Süle (2nd from right) will face FC Copenhagen again like in 2022, including former Dortmund player Youssoufa Moukoko (right). Photo: Imago Images / Kirchner Media

Champions League Football Trips: Who Are BVB's Home Opponents?

At home, they will face the "Yellow Submarine" of FC Villarreal, Norwegian CL newcomer FK Bodø/Glimt, and Athletic Bilbao.

Borussia Dortmund must travel to England twice in the league phase – to 2023 champions Manchester City and to the team that qualified for the Champions League only via their Europa League win, Tottenham Hotspur.

"The Spurs" are a bogey team for BVB. 

Dortmund has faced the Londoners twice in the Champions League, suffering four defeats in four matches in 2017/2018 and 2018/2019, partly thanks to Harry Kane. The English striker, who has been playing for Bayern Munich since 2023, scored four goals in three matches against BVB – only against Dinamo Zagreb has he scored as often in the Champions League. 

For the 2024 finalist, away matches are scheduled against Juventus Turin and FC Copenhagen. Former BVB striker Youssoufa Moukoko fired the Danish record champions into the league phase with a 2-0 win over FC Basel.

Tough Home Schedule for Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt faces a series of tough opponents. At home, in Frankfurt’s Stadtwald stadium, they host English champions FC Liverpool, who also won the inaugural CL league phase last season. Frankfurt will also face Atalanta Bergamo, Galatasaray Istanbul with former Bayern star Leroy Sané, and once again Tottenham. "The Spurs" knocked Frankfurt out last year in the Europa League quarter-finals with a 1:1 and 1:0 result.

SSC Napoli was Frankfurt’s first round-of-16 opponent in the Champions League in 2023 – and won clearly with a 5-0 aggregate. This year, the "Eagles" will return to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples.

Frankfurt also faces two Champions League trips to Spain: to Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Metropolitano and to FC Barcelona, whom they knocked out in the 2022 Europa League quarter-finals (1:1 / 3:2). Over 35,000 Frankfurt fans turned the match at Camp Nou into a home game – a piece of German European Cup history. 

Despite the tough home opponents, SGE sporting director Timmo Hardung made it clear after the draw: “We wanted the Champions League and we’re getting the Champions League!” 

Anything else wouldn’t be Eintracht-like…

Bayern Face Belgium Twice

Bayern-like are the opponents of Germany’s record champions. FC Bayern Munich will host the Club World Cup winner FC Chelsea, as well as Club Brugge from Belgium, who demolished the Glasgow Rangers 9:1 on aggregate in the playoffs. 

Also visiting Munich: Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon and Belgian newcomer Union Saint-Gilloise.

Attractive away trips await Bayern: to Paris Saint-Germain, FC Arsenal, and PSV Eindhoven. 

Bayer 04 vs. Nick Woltemade

Bayer Leverkusen – similar to Eintracht Frankfurt – has a star-studded home program and took it with humor. “Hopefully we don’t get Grimsby,” joked Bayer 04’s online editorial team before the draw, referencing the EFL Cup sensation in which fourth-tier Grimsby Town knocked out co-record champions Manchester United.

As expected, it’s not Grimsby – but defending champions Paris Saint-Germain. 
On the road, Leverkusen will face Manchester City and FC Copenhagen. 
Hosting at the BayArena, in addition to PSG, are Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven with former Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz, FC Villarreal from Spain, and Newcastle United with their record German transfer Nick Woltemade. 

On the sidelines of the CL draw, news leaked of the €90 million transfer of the national striker from VfB Stuttgart to the “Magpies.”

As if Zlatan Ibrahimovic hadn’t already caused enough drama in Monaco…