The Champions League group stage draw for the 2025-26 season has produced some intriguing matchups for Serie A representatives. Let`s examine how Napoli, Inter, Juventus and Atalanta fared.
Notable Matchups
Chelsea will make two trips to Italy, facing both Napoli and Atalanta. The Partenopei also have a challenging away fixture against Manchester City. Juventus will go head-to-head with Real Madrid in what promises to be an exciting clash. Inter seem to have drawn the short straw, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Atlético Madrid all in their group.
Ranking the Difficulty
To assess the relative difficulty of each Italian club`s draw, we`ve assigned star ratings to their opponents. Top contenders like Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City received five stars, while strong clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid got four stars, and so on.
Tallying up the ratings, Inter and Atalanta face the toughest challenge with their opponents totaling 24 stars each. Juventus follows closely with 22 stars, while Napoli`s opponents sum up to 21 stars.
Group Stage Opponents
Juventus (Total: 22 stars)
- Borussia Dortmund (H) ****
- Real Madrid (A) *****
- Benfica (H) ***
- Villarreal (A) ***
- Sporting CP (H) **
- Bodo/Glimt (A) **
- Pafos (H) *
- Monaco (A) **
Napoli (Total: 21 stars)
- Chelsea (H) *****
- Manchester City (A) *****
- Eintracht Frankfurt (H) ***
- Benfica (A) ***
- Sporting CP (H) **
- PSV Eindhoven (A) ***
- Qarabag (H) *
- Copenhagen (A) *
Atalanta (Total: 24 stars)
- Chelsea (H) *****
- Paris Saint-Germain (A) *****
- Club Brugge (H) **
- Eintracht Frankfurt (A) ***
- Slavia Prague (H) **
- Marseille (A) ***
- Athletic Club (H) ***
- Union Saint-Gilloise (A) *
Inter (Total: 24 stars)
- Liverpool (H) *****
- Borussia Dortmund (A) ****
- Arsenal (H) *****
- Atlético Madrid (A) ****
- Slavia Prague (H) **
- Ajax (A) **
- Kairat Almaty (H) *
- Union Saint-Gilloise (A) *
While this evaluation is subjective, it provides a general idea of the challenges each Italian club will face in the Champions League group stage. What`s your take on the draw? Which Serie A team do you think has the toughest road ahead?