UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 storylines, schedule, live stream: How to watch UCL on Paramount+

Three months and change after Paris Saint-Germain lifted their first-ever UEFA Champions League title, the quest to crown a new champion officially begins on Tuesday with the start of the 2025-26 league phase.

Matchday 1 will offer a chance for PSG and several other contenders to stake their claim on Europe’s top club prize, even if the final on May 30 at Budapest’s Puskas Arena may be a ways away. Some tests will be stiffer than others – Real Madrid are favored at home against Marseille on the league phase’s first day and the same goes for Arsenal at last season’s UEFA Europa League semifinalists, Athletic Club. The reigning champions are expected to kick off a tough league phase schedule with a routine win against Atalanta but the schedule will be dotted with a few fixtures against European heavyweights, too.

The headlining act of Matchday 1 is Chelsea‘s trip to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, which features a matchup between two of England‘s top attacking stars in Cole Palmer and Harry Kane. Liverpool, meanwhile, will host Atletico Madrid on the same day, while oddsmakers’ favorites Barcelona will travel to Newcastle United on Thursday.

As the Champions League action nears, here’s what you need to know before tuning in.

How to watch

The opening round of league phase fixtures will take place across three days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – and all of it will be available to watch on Paramount+, with select additional coverage on CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network. Pre-match coverage starts at 12 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network each day before select matches air at 12:45 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET, with post-match coverage transitioning to Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network. The Golazo Show will be free on CBS Sports Golazo Network for Matchday 1, while coverage concludes on CBS Sports Golazo Network with new editions of The Champions Club, which will be simulcast on YouTube, and Scoreline.

Matchday 1 TV schedule

All times U.S./Eastern

Tuesday’s storylines

Xabi Alonso will have the chance to showcase his new look for Real Madrid in European action on Tuesday when they host Marseille, an approach that may provide the solutions to the problems that plagued Los Blancos last season. It may be early but Alonso has swapped the imbalance that personified last season’s quarterfinalists for some well-intentioned restraint, so far selecting a 4-2-3-1 that has allowed them to steadily generate quality goalscoring chances and works well even with some rotation. Kylian Mbappe is the focal point of that attacking approach and has four games in four goals to show for it, even if this version of Real Madrid are so far not known for their lopsided wins.

Elsewhere in Spain, Arsenal visit Athletic Club in a first test for the Gunners. Last season’s semifinalists are intent on another deep run, the pressure to win major silverware underscoring their ambitions this season as Mikel Arteta approaches six years in the job, though their opponents are no slouch. Ernesto Valverde’s side have started the season with three wins out of four and may be one of Arsenal’s tougher opponents in an otherwise pleasant league phase schedule.

The fixture list is complete with a few face-offs between notable teams looking to start their Champions League campaigns on a high, with Tottenham Hotspur hosting Villarreal and Juventus welcoming 2023-24 finalists Borussia Dortmund. PSV host Union Saint-Gilloise in a battle of the Low Countries and Azerbaijan’s Qarabag make the lengthy trip to face Benfica in Portugal.

Wednesday’s storylines

All eyes will be on Munich’s Allianz Arena, where Bayern Munich will host Chelsea in the most anticipated match of the week – and one that will spotlight each team’s attacking might. The Bluestheir will benefit from having Cole Palmer back after a short-term injury but their attack has been inconsistent to start the season, at times lethargic as manager Enzo Maresca tries to strike the right balance with his bloated squad. Despite their talents, it is the opposite effect of Bayern’s style – the true test of their mettle is usually saved for the Champions League but Harry Kane is usually a cheat code for them, and newcomer Luis Diaz could be the same.

A new-look Liverpool hope to take the Champions League by storm when they welcome Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, with plenty of intrigue around which combination of attackers manager Arne Slot will select. Alexander Isak is still awaiting his Reds debut but he still lacks match fitness, while Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah already have multiple goals this season. Florian Wirtz, meanwhile, could use the opportunity to make an impact after a somewhat slow start to life in England.

Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, will be the favorites against Atalanta and Ajax will make their Champions League return against last season’s semifinalists Inter. Additionally, Norway’s Bodo/Glimt and Cyprus’ Pafos will make their competition debuts with away trips to Slavia Praha and Olympiacos, respectively.

Thursday’s storylines

England will host a pair of high-profile matchups to round out Matchday 1, with LaLiga champions Barcelona traveling to Newcastle United and Manchester City hosting Serie A winners Napoli. Barcelona enter the competition as the oddsmakers’ favorites but will need to prove they can cope without Lamine Yamal, who may miss Thursday’s game with a groin injury, while the pressure is on Nick Woltemade to prove he can step into Isak’s shoes against the team’s high line. City, meanwhile, seem poised to offer a Champions League debut to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after he joined Pep Guardiola’s side on deadline day.

Fresh off firing Erik ten Tag, Bayer Leverkusen will kick off their Champions League campaign at Copenhagen and last season’s surprise last 16 participant Club Brugge host Monaco. Last season’s Europa League quarterfinalists Eintracht Frankfurt will host Galatasaray, the lone Turkish participant in this season’s competition, and Kazakhstan’s Kairat will begin their first-ever Champions League campaign with the tournament’s longest away trip at Sporting Lisbon.