Photo by Ambitious Studio* | Rick Barrett on Unsplash
Football today and this week, 19–25 October
Football today and this week, as far as we could confirm for 19 to 25 October 2026, is the Champions League: Matchday 3 runs over two nights, Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 October, with 18 matches in total. The early games kick off at 5.45pm UK time and the rest at 8pm UK time.
The biggest-name pairings are Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona on Tuesday, and Como v Manchester United and Bayern München v Arsenal on Wednesday. Domestic leagues are not covered in this edition, so no league fixtures are listed here yet. For the basic laws behind these matches, see our football rules guide. For last week's picture, see our look at the previous week's key matches, and for the wider month, see our October calendar and where-to-watch guide.
Day by day
Tuesday 20 October brings the first night, with nine matches. Fenerbahçe v Slavia Praha and Sabah v Borussia Dortmund are listed at 18:45 Central European time, which is 5.45pm UK time. Games without a stated time default to 21:00 Central European time, which is 8pm UK time, so the other Tuesday games are shown at 8pm.
Wednesday 21 October has the second night, also with nine matches. Como v Manchester United and Lille v Galatasaray are listed at 18:45 Central European time, or 5.45pm UK time. The remaining Wednesday games default to 8pm UK time. Central European time is one hour ahead of UK time on these dates, so the UK times are our own conversion from the Central European times published for the fixtures.
The table below lists all 18 Matchday 3 games in the order UEFA gives. Only the first two games on each night have a stated time on the UEFA page; the rest are shown at the 21:00 default. Check the official fixtures page before kick-off in case any time has changed.
| Date | Match | Kick-off (Central European) | Kick-off (UK, converted by us) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 20 Oct | Fenerbahçe v Slavia Praha | 18:45 | 5.45pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Sabah v Borussia Dortmund | 18:45 | 5.45pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Roma v Slovan Bratislava | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Porto v PSV Eindhoven | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Liverpool v Villarreal | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Manchester City v AEK Athens | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Napoli v Bodø/Glimt | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Tue 20 Oct | Stuttgart v Atlético de Madrid | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Como v Manchester United | 18:45 | 5.45pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Lille v Galatasaray | 18:45 | 5.45pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Aston Villa v Viking | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Club Brugge v Lens | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Bayern München v Arsenal | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Inter v Shakhtar Donetsk | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Real Madrid v Leipzig | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Real Betis v Feyenoord | 21:00 | 8pm |
| Wed 21 Oct | Sporting CP v LASK | 21:00 | 8pm |
European cups
Aston Villa, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool are all in action this week. Liverpool and Manchester City play on Tuesday, while Aston Villa, Manchester United and Arsenal play on Wednesday. Paris Saint-Germain v Barcelona is on Tuesday and Real Madrid v Leipzig on Wednesday. This article lists fixtures only and does not report Matchday 3 results.
Matchday 2 gives context. Atlético Madrid beat Manchester United 2-0, Arsenal beat Lille 3-0, Aston Villa beat Fenerbahçe 6-0, Manchester City lost 2-4 to Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern and Viking drew 3-3. Those results are listed below for reference.
| Matchday 2 result |
|---|
| Atlético Madrid 2-0 Manchester United |
| Arsenal 3-0 Lille |
| Aston Villa 6-0 Fenerbahçe |
| Manchester City 2-4 Paris Saint-Germain |
| Bayern 3-3 Viking |
Other competitions
This edition does not yet cover La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, the Premier League, the Europa League, the Conference League, the EFL, the FA Cup or MLS. Those competitions were not checked against official schedule pages in this round, so no fixtures or kick-off times are given for them, and their absence here does not mean nothing is scheduled.
Check each competition's official schedule for dates. If league structure is new to you, our guide to how promotion and relegation work explains how the divisions fit together.
International and women's football
International fixtures, the WSL, the NWSL and the Women's Champions League were not checked for this edition, so none are listed.
For background on the women's game, see what changed in women's football after 2022.
What to look out for next
The Champions League league phase runs from 8 September 2026 to 27 January 2027, so Matchday 3 is one stage of a longer run. The key dates are set out in the table below.
Kick-off times can change, so check the competition's official site before going to a match or sitting down to watch. For a wider look at what is still to come across sport this year, see our guide to sport events in 2026.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| League phase starts | 8 September 2026 |
| League phase ends | 27 January 2027 |
| Matchday 3 | 20 and 21 October |
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Sources and further reading
Pages we opened when writing this article, last checked 19 October 2026. They open in a new tab, and we are not responsible for what other sites publish.
- 2026/27 Champions League: All the league phase fixtures and results — Supports the Matchday 3 fixtures, the Central European kick-off times, the 21:00 default, the Matchday 2 results and the league phase dates.
This article was written with the help of AI. Before publication, automated checks confirmed that every listed source was opened and every picture is credited. Spotted a mistake? Write to [email protected].