The new Champions League season begins next week with the start of the league phase as Europe’s top clubs begin a new journey in the continent’s top competition, and this year’s league phase will bring us plenty of excitement and a few must-see matchups.

Here are four Champions League league phase games you simply cannot miss.

The very first game of the new UWCL season is already a big one as Bayern Munich welcome Manchester City in a matchup of two contenders who will want to make a big statement at the expense of the other.

City did not play in last season’s UWCL but won the WSL and FA Cup double in England. They strengthened in the summer to make sure they could return to Europe with a squad capable of challenging for the trophy.

Bayern dominated German football last season with a league and cup double of their own. Bayern lost in the Champions League semifinals to eventual champions Barça, but they are strong enough to compete for it all once again.

This game also features two of the best strikers in the game in Bayern’s Pernille Harder and City’s Khadija Shaw. The fast-paced attacking style of both teams all but guarantees a thriller.

The rematch of the 2025 final won by Arsenal in stunning fashion is one of the most anticipated games of the league phase as Barça looks for revenge and Arsenal searches for another big upset against the Catalans.

Barça’s big summer of change is well-documented and the Champions League will test their new-look squad following the departure of Alexia Putellas. Opponents like Arsenal will provide the sort of trial by fire that Barça needs in the early stages of the season.

Two of the best goalscorers in the game will face off as last season’s UWCL top scorer Ewa Pajor will look to lead Barça against Arsenal’s Alessia Russo, but the real battle will be in midfield. Aitana Bonmatí is back from injury and looking to reestablish her dominance while Clàudia Pina is taking her first steps as Putellas’s replacement in the Barça midfield. The two will go up against an old friend in Mariona Caldentey, who has been one of Europe’s best players since joining Arsenal from Barça a couple of years ago.

These two have met each other at the semifinal stage in the last two seasons, with Arsenal making the 2025 final and Lyon getting their revenge a few months ago. All four of their clashes were hugely entertaining and both second legs featured drama of the highest level. They seem to bring the best out of each other.

Lyon lost last season’s final to Barcelona and made a huge signing in the summer as they stole Salma Paralluelo from the Catalans, hoping she is the missing piece in their quest to dethrone the champions.

Arsenal and Lyon both want to finish in the Top 4 in the league phase standings and guarantee an automatic spot in the quarterfinals and three points in their direct matchup could prove crucial to the winner’s hopes of reaching that goal.

Another rematch of last season’s semifinal will take place in the league phase finale on December 16, as both teams will be looking to reach that final game with a chance to clinch top spot in the standings and guarantee home second legs in the quarters and semis.

This could very well be the game that decides first place in the league phase, too. It’ll be Bayern’s chance to get revenge after falling just short last season against the eventual champions.

Other than Arsenal at home this will be Barça’s toughest test of the league phase. Barça will likely be firing on all cylinders when we get to December and could be looking at their trip to Bayern as a chance to make a real statement of their status as favorites ahead of the knockout rounds.