Tottenham Hotspur

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Anyone who watched the Champions League draw will know that a team's eight league phase fixtures are picked randomly by Uefa's own super computer.

Each team will face two sides from four different pots - two from the pot of top seeds etc down to two from the pot of bottom seeds.

Here's the eight teams Tottenham will face, and the dates they will play them:

• 16 Sept: Villareal (H)
• 30 Sept: Bodo/Glimt (A)
• 22 Oct: Monaco (A)
• 04 Nov: Copenhagen (H)
• 26 Nov: PSG (A)
• 09 Dec: Slavia Prague (H)
• 20 Jan: Dortmund (H)
• 28 Jan: Frankfurt (A)

Image source, BBC Sport

The Champions League was revamped before the 2024-25 season with a new 36-team league phase.

In the expanded tournament each side plays eight different teams - four at home and four away - in the league phase.

Teams who finish in the top eight automatically qualify for the last 16, while those placing ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them.

Sides who finish 25th or lower will be eliminated - and will not drop into the Europa League.

Need to know more, check out this video, which was produced last season to explain the new format...

BBC Radio 5 Live

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Back to Tottenham...former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson is confident the club's summer recruitment will help Thomas Frank's side cope better this season, compared to 2024-25.

"The thing for Tottenham is squad depth. We saw them have a terrible campaign last season finishing 17th in the league, unable to compete on both fronts while chasing that elusive trophy that they finally got.

"The positivity that surrounds Thomas Frank, that one blip on his record with that defeat to Bournemouth but other than that, he’s been very positive and I think tactically, he’s shown he can be very versatile to change personnel and change systems and the early signs are good.

"But it’s a very, very long season and someone told me a long time ago, 'don’t look at the league table until the clocks go back' and I think that’s a good piece of advice."

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

A lot of Tottenham fans are getting in touch with us this morning.

Obviously, they are not the only north London club in action in the Champions League today.

Arsenal, who pushed eventual champions Paris St-Germain all the way in last season's semi-finals before just falling short, are in action at Athletic Club - formerly known as Athletic Bilbao.

We will be hearing from both Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and Spurs head coach Thomas Frank shortly.

But first, a word from some fans of non-Champions League clubs...

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Thomas Frank and Spurs kick off their campaign at home to Villarreal tonight, who finished fifth in La Liga last season to claim the fifth and final qualification place in Spain.

They won their opening two league games this season, but have since dropped points in a draw at Celta Vigo and lost 2-0 at fellow Champions League side Atletico on Saturday.

We can feel your excitement Jack...and you have every right to be excited.

It's exciting times at Tottenham at the moment.

Imagine how Thomas Frank will be feeling today, leading Spurs into the Champions League.

These kinds of nights will have been in his mind when accepting the offer to take the step from Brentford.

The Danish manager has led Tottenham to nine points from a possible 12 in his first four league games, now this is his chance to pit his wits against the best managers in Europe.

Game on.

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Champions League

Tuesday, 16 September

• Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal (17:45)
• PSV Eindhoven v Union Saint-Gilloise (17:45)
• Benfica v Qarabag
• Juventus v Borussia Dortmund
• Real Madrid v Marseille
• Tottenham v Villarreal

Wednesday, 17 September

• Olympiakos v Pafos (17:45)
• Slavia Prague v Bodo/Glimt (17:45)
• Ajax v Inter Milan
• Bayern Munich v Chelsea
• Liverpool v Atletico Madrid
• Paris St-Germain v Atalanta

Thursday, 18 September

• Club Brugge v Monaco (17:45)
• Copenhagen v Bayer Leverkusen (17:45)
• Eintracht Frankfurt v Galatasaray
• Manchester City v Napoli
• Newcastle v Barcelona
• Sporting v Kairat Amaty

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

OK, let's get down to the brass tacks.

Who is playing who this week?

Opening fixtures coming up...

Champions League

Now, we know you will all have your own favourites, even if you are a neutral.

It's hard to step back and be pragmatic about this - football is a game of opinions and emotion, after all.

So it is through these, perhaps, rose-tinted spectacles that our readers have made their choices in BBC Sport's poll.

See what you think - is the heart ruling the head, or the head ruling the heart?

Here is how the results currently stand:

• 25%: Liverpool
• 15%: Arsenal
• 13%: Tottenham
• 8%: Chelsea
• 6%: Barcelona, Newcastle, Paris St-Germain
• 5%: Real Madrid
• 4%: Bayern Munich, Man City
• 2%: Napoli
• 1%: Inter, Paphos, Bodo/Glimt.

We have also asked a panel of Champions League experts to make their own predictions and answer the same questions we have posed you.

Phil McNulty is among those on the panel so feel free to grill him on his choices this morning.

You can read what Phil and the rest of the experts had to say by clicking this link, where you can also take part in a prediction poll.

Of course, we want you to stick with us, so we will bring you a cross section of the panel's answers in this page.

For now, here is a round-up of who our pundits have predicted will win this year's competition:

The eagle-eyed among you will have seen from the Get Involved headline that BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty will be joining us later this morning to answer your football questions.

Just click on the Get Involved button to pose your question and remember to make them for Phil's attention.

We are going to set the scene this morning, with all the Champions League information you need to know.

But you don't get to sit back and relax, we want you to help get the conversation going as we start this journey together.

We have a few questions to help kick-start the debate:

• Who do you think will win the Champions League?
• Which English club do you think will go furthest?
• Who will be the surprise package?
• Which player are you looking forward to watching?

Click on the Get Involved button at the top of this page to have your say.

Image source, Getty Images

Champions League

Here is a reminder of the competing teams, by nation.

Remember, the Premier League have been given an extra place, so the top five in last season's standings have qualified, while Tottenham join them as Europa League winners:

• England (6): Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Tottenham
• Spain (5): Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal
• Italy (4): Atalanta, Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli
• Germany (4): Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen
• France (3): Marseille, Monaco, Paris St-Germain
• Netherlands (2): Ajax, PSV Eindhoven
• Portugal (2): Benfica, Sporting
• Belgium (2): Club Brugge, Union Saint-Gilloise
• Norway (1): Bodo/Glimt.
• Denmark (1): Copenhagen.
• Turkey (1): Galatasaray.
• Kazakhstan (1): Kairat Almaty.
• Greece (1): Olympiakos.
• Cyprus (1): Pafos.
• Azerbaijan (1): Qarabag.
• Czech Republic (1): Slavia Prague.

Champions League

A total of 36 teams are preparing to set off on their Champions League journey, with the opening matches of the 2025-26 league phase kicking off this evening.

Only two teams will reach the ultimate destination - this season's final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on 30 May.

But you can follow them every step of the way with the BBC.

So buckle up, it's going to be quite a ride.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images