Looking to find out how you can watch the Champions League 2026/27? You've come to the right place. This guide has all the details on Champions League TV coverage and free live streams around the world.
- UK: TNT Sports / Prime Video
- US: Paramount+
- Free Streams: RTE Player & Virgin Media Play (Ireland) / CBS Sports Golazo Network (US) / TRT (Turkey) / RTL (Belgium)
- Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk free
Europe's premier club competition kicks off this week with the 36-team league phase, as PSG look to defend the crown they have won over the last two years. Of course, they will face plenty of competition from the likes of Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester City and FC Barcelona.
As well as the usual outfits, we have a host of teams who haven't featured in the Champions League before, including Azerbaijani outfit Sabah, Austria's LASK, Norway's Viking FK and the Cesc Fabregas-managed Como.
Matchday one has a host of brilliant games, with Real Madrid vs Inter Milan and Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid among the highlights. Mikel Arteta's Gunners head to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for a difficult game against Napoli, while Manchester United make their return to the UCL for the first time since 2023/24, taking on Sabah.
If you’re going to be abroad for any of the action, don’t forget that you can use a VPN to watch your usual UCL live stream from overseas – find out more below.
Champions League fixtures this week
Tuesday, September 8
Fixture |
Kick-off time |
UK |
US |
Free stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AEK Athens vs LASK |
17:45 BST / 12:45 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 0 - Cell 4 | |
Club Brugge vs Aston Villa |
17:45 BST / 12:45 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
Borussia Dortmund vs Villarreal |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 2 - Cell 4 | |
FC Porto vs Man City |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
Row 3 - Cell 4 | ||
Lille vs Real Betis |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 4 - Cell 4 | |
Real Madrid vs Inter Milan |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Wednesday, September 9
Fixture |
Kick-off time |
UK |
US |
Free stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Barcelona vs Feyenoord |
17:45 BST / 12:45 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
Stuttgart vs Viking FK |
17:45 BST / 12:45 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 1 - Cell 4 | |
Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
PSG vs Slovan Bratislava |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 3 - Cell 4 | |
Sporting CP vs Galatasaray |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
Napoli vs Arsenal |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Thursday, September 10
Fixture |
Kick-off time |
UK |
US |
Free stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fenerbahce vs Roma |
17:45 BST / 12:45 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
PSV vs Shakhtar Donetsk |
17:45 BST / 12:45 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 1 - Cell 4 | |
Bayern Munich vs Bodo/Glimt |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
Como vs RB Leipzig |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 3 - Cell 4 | |
Manchester United vs Sabah |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
||
Slavia Prague vs RC Lens |
20:00 BST / 15:00 ET |
TNT Sports / |
Row 5 - Cell 4 |
Can I watch the Champions League for free?
Yes, select Champions League games are free-to-air in specific countries across the world.
Ireland enjoys extensive free coverage of the Champions League, with not one but two free-to-air broadcasters having rights to the action. RTÉ has at least one game live each week, which goes out on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player (also available as a browser player). Meanwhile, Virgin Media TV has the rights to multiple matches each week, most of which are available for free on Virgin Media Two and the Virgin Media Play streaming service - which can be used in-browser without registration.
In the US, CBS Sports Golazo Network will show select games for free with this service requiring no account to stream the games.
Elsewhere, TapMad in Pakistan, Club RTL in Belgium and TRT in Turkey will show select games for free.
Abroad? Use NordVPN to unlock your free Champions League stream if you're travelling during the 2026/27 season.
Use a VPN to watch the Champions League from anywhere
Geo-restrictions apply to all major streaming services these days, but that doesn't mean you can't get your usual Champions League coverage if you're overseas.
All you need is a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a handy piece of internet security software that can make it look like your device is still back at home. Assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock your usual streaming services and enjoy the football wherever you are in the world.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, but FourFourTwo’s brainy office mates TechRadar are big fans of NordVPN.
Where to watch Champions League in the UK
UEFA Champions League live coverage is shared between two broadcasters in the UK.
TNT Sports have rights to 172 out of the 189 matches in 2026/27. All of those games are now streamed live on HBO Max.
Amazon Prime Video, in their third season of showing the Champions League, will show the other 17 matches this season, and have first pick of Tuesday night fixtures.
Champions League highlights on the BBC
The above broadcasters will be providing their own highlights packages but fans in the UK can watch Champions League highlights for free on the BBC. There is a weekly highlights show on Wednesday nights on BBC One or BBC Two, and you can also watch via the BBC iPlayer.
How to watch the Champions League in the US
Broadcasting giant CBS holds the exclusive Champions League rights in the US.
Coverage is split across the CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network cable channels and the Paramount+ streaming platform, where there's a feed for every single game.
CBS' coverage has rocketed to fame in recent years thanks to the chemistry of Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, Micah Richards, and host Kate Scott, and has been described as "a breath of fresh air" by FourFourTwo deputy editor Matthew Ketchell.
Watch Champions League live streams in Canada
Watch Champions League live streams in Australia
Watch Champions League live streams in New Zealand
Champions League format and schedule
The Champions League features 36 teams who, in a format introduced in 2024/25, start off in one big league, with each team playing eight games to determine their position.
The top eight go straight through to the knockout rounds. The teams placed 9th-24th go into a play-off round, with eight more teams going through to form the 'last-16' phase of the competition.
From then on, it's traditional two-leg home-and-away ties to get to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.
Champions League matches are played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Champions League dates
Matchday 1: 8–10 September 2026
Matchday 2: 13–14 October 2026
Matchday 3: 20–21 October 2026
Matchday 4: 3–4 November 2026
Matchday 5: 24–25 November 2026
Matchday 6: 8–9 December 2026
Matchday 7: 19–20 January 2027
Matchday 8: 27 January 2027
Knockout phase play-offs: 16/17 & 23/24 February 2027
Round of 16: 9/10 & 16/17 March 2027
Quarter-finals: 6/7 & 13/14 April 2027
Semi-finals: 27/28 April & 4/5 May 2027
Final: 5 June 2027 (Madrid)
Champions League teams
- Arsenal
- Aston Villa
- Atlético Madrid
- Borussia Dortmund
- Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Club Brugge
- Como
- Feyenoord
- Galatasaray
- Inter Milan
- RB Leipzig
- Lens
- Lille
- Liverpool
- Manchester City
- Manchester United
- Napoli
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Porto
- PSV Eindhoven
- Real Betis
- Real Madrid
- Roma
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Slavia Prague
- Sporting CP
- Stuttgart
- Villarreal
- Fenerbahçe
- LASK
- Sabah
- Viking
- AEK Athens
- Slovan Bratislava
- Bodø/Glimt
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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