The draw is done, the destinations are set – and now the excitement can really begin! RB Leipzig will face three European heavyweights in the Champions League league phase in Real Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United.
There will also be reunions with former Leipzig players and some exciting European away trips. We take a closer look at all eight opponents and what makes each fixture particularly interesting from an RBL perspective.
Real Madrid: Meeting Yan Diomande again so soonIt doesn’t get much bigger than this: the first team drawn against us were the record 15-time Champions League winners! We’ll face Real Madrid for the fifth time in the competition, with this meeting taking place at the Santiago Bernabéu.
We last faced Real in the 2023/24 round of 16, narrowly going out after a 1-0 defeat and a 1-1 draw. In 2022/23, meanwhile, we defeated the then holders 3-2 at home in the group stage - proof that they can be beaten!
The trip will also bring reunions with Yan Diomande, who only left RBL for Madrid a few weeks ago, and Ibrahima Konaté. Our former centre-back, who played for Leipzig from 2017 to 2021, joined the Spanish giants from Liverpool this summer.
Manchester City: A special game for MichoThis is about as big a draw as we could have got from former Spain record goalscorer David Villa: 2023 Champions League winners and serial English champions Manchester City will visit the Red Bull Arena.
Games against City have almost become a regular feature for RBL, with the sides having met six times already. One that particularly stands out is the 6-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in 2021/22, when returning Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku scored all three of our goals.
Joško Gvardiol also featured in that game, although he was still wearing an RBL shirt at the time. He left for the Sky Blues in 2023 after a hugely successful spell in Leipzig. It should also be a special evening for our head coach Martín Demichelis, who played for City between 2013 and 2016 and won the Premier League during his time there.
Manchester United: Familiar faces at the Theatre of DreamsThe Red Bulls will travel to face the Red Devils, City’s fierce local rivals Manchester United. Like us, the three-time European champions didn't take part in the Champions League last season.
Our visit to the legendary Old Trafford will be only the third meeting between the sides, following the two group-stage games in 2020/21, which ended 5-0 to Manchester United and 3-2 to us. We’ll certainly be looking for a very different outcome in Manchester this time around!
United also have two former Leipzig players in their squad in Benjamin Šeško and Matheus Cunha. Benjamin scored an impressive 39 goals during his two years at RBL before leaving in summer 2025, then found the net 11 times in his first season in England. Matheus also scored ten goals for United last term. Our defence will need to be on its guard!
PSV Eindhoven: Lutsha awaitsThe meeting with PSV Eindhoven will bring two firsts for RBL. The reigning Dutch champions faced two German sides last season in FC Bayern and Leverkusen. Now we’ll take on the 1988 European Cup winners for the first time, with PSV visiting the Red Bull Arena. It will also be our first competitive match against Dutch opposition.
Lutsharel Geertruida recently joined former Dortmund coach Peter Bosz’s side on loan from RBL. The fixture will also be particularly special for Johan Bakayoko, whom we signed from the ‘Boeren’ (the Farmers) in 2025. Johan came through PSV’s academy.
Feyenoord: A special atmosphere at De KuipOur away game at De Kuip should be something special. Lutsha, who joined us from Feyenoord in 2024, could certainly tell us all about it. The stadium has a reputation as one of the loudest and most passionate in European football. ‘De club aan de Maas’ (the club on the Meuse) are one of the Eredivisie’s biggest clubs and last won the Dutch title in 2022/23.
The names Tjark Ernst and Jeremiah St. Juste may also be familiar to RBL fans. Ernst recently joined Feyenoord from Hertha BSC and is regarded as a highly rated young goalkeeper. St. Juste played for Mainz 05 from 2019 to 2022, meaning he came up against us several times during his time in Germany.
Shakhtar Donetsk: Round threeWe last faced the Ukrainian side in 2022/23, with the two games ending 4-1 to Shakhtar and 4-0 to RBL respectively. Because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the home matches of last season’s Conference League semi-finalists were played at neutral venues at the time.
We will now welcome Arda Turan’s side back to the Red Bull Arena. The 16-time domestic champions sit second in the Ukrainian Premier League after winning all three of their opening matches. They are most definitely a team we can’t afford to underestimate!
Como 1907: Facing Kühn by Lake ComoComo 1907’s rise is one of the most remarkable stories among this season’s Champions League participants. In a short space of time, the club have gone from Italy’s fourth tier to one of Serie A's top sides.
Their home ground is the compact Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, right on the shores of Lake Como, making this one of the standout trips of the league phase for Leipzig fans away from the game itself.
Como also take an unusual approach to merchandising, teaming up with fashion labels and releasing their shirts as limited-edition fashion drops.
The side are coached by former world-class midfielder Cesc Fàbregas and also include Nicolas Kühn. The attacker spent three years in the RBL academy between 2015 and 2018.
RC Lens: Doudou Haidara back in LeipzigWe’ll also face RC Lens in a competitive match for the first time. The clubs have met just once before, in a friendly in 2025 which Lens won 2-1.
We’re also very much looking forward to seeing Doudou Haidara again. Doudou spent seven years as RBL player before leaving last winter. Former RBL striker Loïs Openda joined us from Lens back in 2023. He recently moved on loan to Olympique Lyonnais.
Lens are fresh from a 1-0 Super Cup win over PSG and were French champions in 1998. They have been coached by Dino Toppmöller since the start of this season. Toppmöller was previously in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt, where our current assistant coach Stefan Buck was part of his team.
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