Back in the Champions League for the first time since 2022/23, Chelsea will aim to go all the way for the first time since they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the 2020/21 final under current England head coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues finished fourth in the 2024/25 Premier League at the end of their first season under Enzo Maresca and have landed meetings with six-time Champions League winners Bayern Munich and five-time winners Barcelona among their league phase matches.
The Conference League and Club World Cup holders beat Bayern in Munich in the final of the 2011/12 competition under caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Check out Chelsea’s fixtures, results and squad for the 2025/26 Champions League, as well as a look at the schedule for the league phase and beyond.
Chelsea Champions League fixtures, results 2025/26
Chelsea’s opponents in the league phase include Benfica, who won the competition in 1961 and 1962, and Ajax, whose fourth and most recent title was in 1995.
Qarabag are the reigning Azerbaijan Premier League champions, while Napoli are the Italian holders and Barca lifted the LaLiga title in 2024/25.
Atalanta came third in Serie A last season and qualifiers Pafos won the Cypriot First Division.
All fixtures start at 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT unless otherwise stated.
Wednesday, September 17: Bayern Munich vs Chelsea
Tuesday, September 30: Chelsea vs Benfica
Wednesday, October 22: Chelsea vs Ajax
Wednesday, November 5: Qarabag vs Chelsea (17:45)
Tuesday November 25: Chelsea vs Barcelona
Tuesday, December 9: Atalanta vs Chelsea
Wednesday, January 21: Chelsea vs Pafos
Wednesday January 28: Napoli vs Chelsea
Chelsea Champions League squad 2025/26
Chelsea’s List A Champions League squad has been registered until the round of 16 in February 2026, when clubs can register a maximum of three new players within the existing limit of 25.
Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen
Defenders: Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto, Jorell Hato, Reece James
Midfielders: Moises Caicedo, Dario Essugo, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos
Forwards: Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Estevao Willian
List B submissions, comprised of players born after January 1, 2004 who have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday, can also be made until midnight before each match.
Defender Josh Acheampong, winger Tyrique George and midfielder Romeo Lavia are initially on List B.
Chelsea Champions League schedule 2025/26
After the league phase, the play-offs are held in February, with the rest of the knockout stage before the final held between March and early May.
Matchday 1: September 16-18 2025
Matchday 2: September 30 – October 1 2025
Matchday 3: October 21/22 2025
Matchday 4: November 4/5 2025
Matchday 5: November 25/26 2025
Matchday 6: December 9/10 2025
Matchday 7: January 20/21 2026
Matchday 8: January 28 2026
When is the Champions League knockout phase?
Knockout phase play-offs: February 17/18 & 24/25 2026
Round of 16: March 10/11 & 17/18 2026
Quarter-finals: April 7/8 & 14/15 2026
Semi-finals: April 28/29 and May 5/6 2026
Final: May 30 2026 (Budapest)
When are the Champions League draws?
Knockout phase play-offs: January 30 2026
Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final: February 27 2026
Champions League 2025/26 format
In a change from the previous group stage format conducted until 2023/24, each team now plays eight matches in the league phase, all against different opponents.
Four of those matches will be at home and four away, with the opponents determined according to four seeding pots split by rankings.
Teams will play two opponents from each of those pots – one against a team from each pot at home and one away. The results decide the overall standings in one league.
The top eight sides in the table qualify automatically for the round of 16. The teams finishing in ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout phase play-off to reach the last 16.
Teams finishing 25th or lower are out of Europe for the season.
English teams in the Champions League: Why are there six clubs?
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle all qualified as the top five teams in the Premier League.
There were five places for English teams because extra positions are awarded based on Uefa’s co-efficient rankings, which are based on the overall performances of nations across European competition over a season.
Spurs qualified as Europa League champions, despite losing 22 and winning only 11 of their 2024/25 league games and finishing 17th.
When is the Champions League final?
The final will take place on May 30 2026 at the The Puskas Arena in Budapest, which opened in 2019 and is home to Hungary’s national team.
The arena hosted a dramatic 2022/23 Europa League final, when Sevilla beat Roma on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
How to watch Chelsea in the Champions League: TV channel
TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video have the live broadcast rights to the Champions League in the UK.
Amazon have first pick of the Tuesday games, with all the other matches shown on TNT Sports. BBC Sport also has highlights rights.
According to BT, TNT Sports costs £20 a month when bought with a broadband package or £30.99 a month without a contract.
Those prices include discovery+ Premium, which offers access to thousands of exclusive shows and originals.
A Prime Video membership is £8.99 per month or £95 per year paid annually, with a half-price offer for fans aged between 18 and 22.
Membership includes unlimited delivery on a huge selection of Amazon items and a range of other perks such as movies, series, documentaries and photo storage.
How to live stream Chelsea Champions League games online
The broadcasters have dedicated apps allowing fans to live-stream the games: TNT’s discovery+, the Prime Video app and BBC iPlayer.
The apps are available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
