Bayern Munich’s opponents in the Champions League group stage have been determined. Anticipation is high among the Munich fans—but at the same time, the team is warning that these will be tough matches.
FC Bayern now knows its path through the group stage of the 2026–27 Champions League. The Munich team will face Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Real Betis, Manchester United, Bodø/Glimt, OSC Lille, Slavia Prague, and Viking Stavanger.
The draw in Monaco thus gave the record-holding German champions a mix of European heavyweights and a few lesser-known opponents. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen sees challenging matches ahead for Bayern, particularly against the big-name teams.
“These are not easy opponents. We have some real toughies with Atlético Madrid, which is always a tough draw, and Manchester United on the road—at Old Trafford in front of a fantastic crowd. At home, we’ll face Arsenal, the English champions and last year’s finalists,” Dreesen explained on the club’s website.
But the CEO doesn’t want to underestimate the supposedly smaller opponents either: “Then we have a few lesser-known teams like Viking Stavanger; I’m really looking forward to that game and the trip to Norway. At home, we’ll also be playing against Bodø/Glimt, among others—a team that caused quite a few surprises last season. Overall, these are opponents we respect, but we intend to beat them.”
Bayern has set a top-eight finish as its clear goal
Max Eberl is also looking forward to the new season in the Champions League. The sporting director also made it clear where the team aims to go in the group stage: “We’re really looking forward to the new Champions League season. We have challenging away matches against Atlético, Manchester United, Lille, and Viking Stavanger. At home, we face opponents we can beat, but also last year’s finalist, Arsenal, among others. We want to make it into the top eight—that’s our clear goal.”
Manuel Neuer shares this goal. The Bayern captain is particularly looking forward to facing some old acquaintances: “They’re very evenly matched and interesting opponents with a lot of tradition. Basically, we want to make it into the top eight again—that’s our big goal. The matchup with Arsenal has already become a classic in recent years.”
The away game at Atlético holds special appeal for Neuer. The Estadio Metropolitano will also host the Champions League final this coming June: “We’ll be playing Atlético in the final stadium; we all hope to play there twice this season,” explained the 40-year-old.
Neuer also highlights the trip to Manchester United: “Bayern vs. Manchester United is, of course, an absolute classic with a rich history in the Champions League. Playing there on the road is something special. We also won’t underestimate the matches against Bodø/Glimt—who were a real surprise last season—Lille, Slavia Prague, Real Betis, and Viking Stavanger. We’re looking forward to these challenges.”
Serge Gnabry also sees an exciting group stage ahead for Bayern: “We’re hoping for another strong group stage in the Champions League. I’m really looking forward to the game in Madrid against Atlético. We played against Arsenal last season, and that’s going to be another very good and interesting match at home for us.”
The attacking player also pointed out the progress made by some of the opponents: “Bodø/Glimt was last year’s surprise team in the competition. Manchester United is on the rise—that’ll be a great matchup in a cool stadium. Betis Sevilla, Slavia Prague, and OSC Lille are also teams that play well and performed strongly last season. These are exciting and thrilling matches that we’re looking forward to.”
Bayern’s strategy is thus clear even before the first game: After finishing second in the group stage last season, the goal is once again to secure direct qualification for the Round of 16 by finishing among the top eight teams.