Man City is having a weird season. Honestly, if you looked at the Champions League fixtures Manchester City had to navigate this year, you’d probably think they would’ve cruised. They have Erling Haaland. They have Pep. They basically have a bottomless pit of tactical brilliance. But the new Swiss model has a way of making even the giants look a bit human.
The schedule was relentless. Eight games against eight different teams. No "easy" home and away repeats.
The League Phase Grind
We’re sitting in mid-January 2026 right now. The dust is barely settling on the winter matches, and City fans are doing the math. The fixtures have been a mix of absolute masterclasses and some head-scratching moments at the Etihad.
Check the run they had to deal with. It kicked off back in September with a 2-0 win over Napoli. Solid. Then things got a bit spicy. They went to Monaco, went to Villarreal—winning both.
But then November hit.
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Pep Guardiola did something very "Pep" against Bayer Leverkusen. He made ten changes to the starting XI. Ten! Naturally, City lost 0-2 at home. Patrik Schick and Álex Grimaldo did the damage. It was one of those nights where the "overthinking" allegations started flying again on social media. People were fuming.
Those Crucial Winter Dates
If you’re looking for the immediate Champions League fixtures Manchester City has left or just finished, here is the breakdown of the final push:
- January 20, 2026: FK Bodø/Glimt (Away) - Kick-off at 17:45 UK.
- January 28, 2026: Galatasaray (Home) - Kick-off at 20:00 UK.
The trip to Norway is kind of a nightmare. It’s freezing. The turf is artificial. It’s exactly the kind of place where a billion-dollar squad doesn’t want to be on a Tuesday night in January. But that's the beauty of the new format. You can't just hide in the traditional group stage bubbles anymore.
Why the Standings Look Stressful
Usually, by now, City would be qualified and resting everyone. Not this time.
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Because of that loss to Leverkusen and a few other tight games, they’ve been hovering around that 9th to 24th bracket. If you finish in the top 8, you get a bye. You skip the playoff round in February. If you finish 9th or lower? You’re playing two extra games in an already packed schedule.
City is currently fighting to stay in that top 8. They beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabéu in December—a massive result where Nico O’Reilly and Haaland turned it around—but the league table is so congested. One draw against Galatasaray in the final fixture could mean the difference between a month of rest and a frantic playoff series against someone like PSG or Atalanta.
A Quick Look Back at the Scores
- Matchday 1: City 2-0 Napoli
- Matchday 2: Monaco 0-? (City won, but it was tight)
- Matchday 3: Villarreal 0-2 City
- Matchday 4: City vs Borussia Dortmund (A classic Etihad night)
- Matchday 5: City 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen (The shocker)
- Matchday 6: Real Madrid 1-2 City (The statement win)
What Most People Get Wrong About the Fixtures
Everyone thinks the "big" games are the ones that matter. Real Madrid? Sure. Dortmund? Obviously. But it’s the Bodø/Glimt and Galatasaray fixtures that actually define the season.
If City drops points in Norway on the 20th, they are essentially handing their title rivals a massive advantage. Why? Because the Champions League knockout play-offs happen on February 17/18 and 24/25. If City has to play those, they’ll be doing it right in the middle of a Premier League title race.
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Imagine having to fly to Turkey or Italy for a high-stakes European game three days before playing Liverpool or Arsenal. That’s how seasons fall apart.
The Road to Budapest
The final is in Hungary this year. May 30, 2026, at the Puskás Aréna.
To get there, City has to navigate a bracket that is basically a minefield. The new rules mean that if you finish as a top seed, you get a "protected" path, but if you slip into the playoffs, you could face a gauntlet of elite teams before you even hit the quarter-finals.
Upcoming Knockout Dates to Circle:
- Knockout Play-offs: Feb 17-25, 2026
- Round of 16: March 10-18, 2026
- Quarter-finals: April 7-15, 2026
- Semi-finals: April 28 - May 6, 2026
Practical Steps for Fans
If you're following the Champions League fixtures Manchester City are involved in, stop looking at the old "group" standings. They don't exist. You need to watch the single league table.
- Watch the Goal Difference: It’s the first tiebreaker. City’s 10-1 win over Exeter in the FA Cup showed they can pile on goals, and they'll need that same ruthlessness against Galatasaray to secure a top-8 spot.
- Check the Tuesday/Wednesday Split: Under the new format, matchdays are spread out differently. Don't assume City always plays on Wednesday. The Bodø/Glimt game is a Tuesday start.
- Monitor the "European Performance Spots": While City is safe, the overall performance of English clubs affects how many teams get in next year. Right now, the Premier League is battling for those extra slots.
The reality is that City is still the favorite. But the fixture list has never been this complicated. Between the artificial turf in Norway and the tactical experiments against German sides, Pep is earned every penny of his contract this winter.