Five Spanish teams participated in the UCL draw for the upcoming 2026/27 UEFA Champions League season. Real Madrid, Real Betis, FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal all learned their league phase opposition. While every schedule has a mix of difficult and easy, some clubs got lucky while some have been damned to hell. Here’s a look at what each Spanish club has ahead.
Real Madrid’s UCL Draw:
The 15-time record holders of the Champions League were the first name to be pulled out of the draw, which was handled by Barça legends Thierry Henry and David Villa.
Led by José Mourinho at the helm, Real Madrid will try to win the one trophy that the Portuguese manager couldn’t win during his highly successful first stint here.
Inter Milan and Arsenal are the two standout fixtures for Los Blancos. Arsenal have never lost to Real Madrid in the UCL in their history, standing at 3 wins and 1 draw. Two of those wins came as recently as the 2024/25 season, when Arsenal won 5-1 over two legs. Mourinho will lick his lips at hurting Arsenal, a rivalry he has long cherished throughout stints at Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Real Madrid vs Inter Milan is a European classic, with the teams facing each other 13 times in history, with Real Madrid edging the Italians by 7 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. These two first met in the 1963/64 European Cup final, when Inter beat them 3-1, denying Real their 7th title.
Arsenal and Inter Milan are the respective league champions of England and Italy last season, so Real Madrid will have a tough ask in the group stage.
Their other fixtures against PSV, RB Leipzig, LASK and Shakhtar Donetsk are all beatable. Special mention to Roma, who Mourinho was a former manager of and with whom he won the UEFA Conference League title in 2022, his last major trophy in soccer.
The group is relatively easy and should allow Mourinho’s men to wrap proceedings up quickly and rotate towards the latter half of the league phase.
UCL Draw: FC Barcelona
The back-to-back La Liga champions are chasing a Champions League title for the 12th year running. With massive additions to their squad, including 2023 UCL winner Rodri, many folks already see FC Barcelona as one of the favorites to win the title under 2020 UCL-winning manager Hansi Flick. The road certainly won’t be easy.
The teams from the first pot, Manchester City and PSG, are the heaviest opponents Barça could have asked for. PSG are the two-time back-to-back Champions League winners, led by a former Barça Champions League winner in Luis Enrique, with their attack being led by former Barça boys Ferran Torres and Ousmane Dembélé. The storylines just write themselves.
Rodri will return to face Manchester City, who will be starting the campaign having lost many key players over the summer and their coach Pep Guardiola as well. Under Enzo Maresca, City have some experience in Europe, as he was part of the coaching squad under Guardiola that won the Champions League in 2023.
Barça will also face Europa League winners Aston Villa during the league phase. However, Unai Emery has lost more times to Barcelona than any other opponent (21), according to Opta.
There is relief as we go down the draw, though. Feyenoord and Galatasaray are winnable fixtures. Sporting CP will be unpredictable, as Portuguese sides often are in the UCL. The Como 1907 fixture will see a familiar face in manager Cesc Fabregas, who is already linked with taking over at Barça after Hansi Flick exits.
Lastly, the trip to Azerbaijan to take on newcomers Sabah will be a long and exhausting trip, but one that will more than likely bring Barça 3 points. It’s almost a given that they will secure automatic qualification as one of the top 8 teams.
UCL Draw: Atlético Madrid
Diego Simeone’s boys have definitely got the worst draw out of the traditional big 3 in Spain. They will take on two European giants: six-time winners of the competition Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Bayern are an unstoppable force at the moment, and all their players also had a stellar World Cup campaign. Liverpool are transitioning under new manager Andoni Iraola, but reinforcements this summer like Bradley Barcola and Victor Muñoz will definitely give them a boost.
Liverpool isn’t the only English club Atleti will face, as Manchester United, making their return to Champions League soccer after two seasons, will also offer a stern test. Eredivisie champions PSV have been dominating Dutch soccer for a while now, while Fenerbahçe have a well-built squad with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Romelu Lukaku, Ederson and Marcos Asensio all playing for the Turkish team.
Stuttgart should offer all 3 points to Atleti, but two tricky trips to Norway to face newcomers Viking and familiar foe Bødo/Glimt, who beat Atleti last season, will be a few hurdles.
This is easily a draw that could see Atleti barely scrape into the top 8, or place themselves between 8-16.
Real Betis
20 years since their last appearance in the competition, Manuel Pellegrini has brought the green side of Andalusia back to the Champions League. While their rivals Sevilla have been dominating Europa Leagues, this is now a chance for Real Betis to start their own legacy in the biggest tournament of them all.
Fran García, Pablo García, Cucho, Isco, Antony, Pablo Fornals and Troy Parrott among others — this squad is stacked with depth and quality from top to bottom. They just played a European final two seasons ago, the Conference League final against Chelsea, and have comfortably grown in stature in La Liga over the last few seasons.
Arsenal and Bayern Munich are the only two opponents I see them having trouble with, where they might drop all six points. Porto and Borussia Dortmund add further difficulties from the 2nd pot, but Betis are more than good enough to secure draws or even a hard-fought win against those two sides.
Things get a breather as we head down, as Feyenoord, Lille and Slovan Bratislava are matches where Betis should definitely try to pick up 5-7 points at least. Como, their final opponent, could be a difficult side as Cesc Fabregas has built a formidable team, but Betis can easily finish anywhere between 12-20.
Villarreal
Villarreal have the WORST draw among all Spanish sides. Five out of the eight teams they will face have won a European trophy. Villarreal themselves are the holders of the 2021 Europa League, and are the feel-good story that came out of Spanish soccer owing to their European runs under Unai Emery.
Managed by Iñigo Pérez, who himself is a European finalist just last season when he led Rayo Vallecano to the Conference League final, Villarreal are one of the strongest best-of-the-rest teams in Spain. Last season they finished 3rd in La Liga ahead of Atlético Madrid. While this is their second Champions League campaign in a row, the campaign last year is a forgettable one, having only secured one point in eight matches and finishing 35th in the 2025/26 season.
PSG and Liverpool are as tough as it gets. Both PSG and Liverpool are managed by Pérez’s compatriots and fellow Northern Spaniards Luis Enrique and Andoni Iraola. In fact, Iñigo Pérez was Iraola’s understudy at Rayo Vallecano before Iraola departed for Bournemouth and Perez took over.
Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli are still tough fixtures, with all these teams wanting to prove a point in Europe after a few disappointing seasons. Fenerbahçe will be tough, but asking a point off of them isn’t too far-fetched. Slavia Praha and Sabah should be definite wins for Spain’s 3rd-best team last season.
My prediction for them is somewhere between 18th to 24th.
Abhik Deb is an accomplished sports journalist and content creator, renowned for his innovative approach to digital storytelling within the football world. With a Master’s degree in Sports Journalism and Communications from Universidad Europea de Madrid, Abhik brings a sophisticated understanding of both traditional journalistic tenets and contemporary digital media strategies to his work. His professional journey includes a significant tenure as a multimedia journalist at Real Madrid C.F., where his contributions spanned video editing, scriptwriting, and on-camera presenting. Notably, Abhik made history as the first Indian to record a live stand-up from the hallowed Santiago Bernabéu pitch for Real Madrid TV, underscoring his pioneering spirit and influential presence. A specialist in La Liga and Spanish football, Abhik excels at captivating audiences through viral football content and insightful documentary-style videos. His natural ability to blend rigorous journalism with creative digital storytelling is evident in his independent fan channel, ‘LaLigaVic,’ where he cultivates a growing audience through engaging, original coverage of Spanish football culture. Abhik’s proficiency extends to social media strategy and audience engagement, crucial skills in today’s digital landscape. You can explore more of Abhik’s work on Hooligan Soccer and Muckrack. Connect with Abhik on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube to follow his continuous dedication to delivering high-quality, authoritative sports content.
