Manchester City and Newcastle United are participating in their Champions League matches on a Thursday evening.
The UEFA Champions League, set to undergo significant changes this season, will now be held on Thursday nights. This shift from the traditional Tuesday and Wednesday evenings is unusual, as Thursday nights are typically reserved for the Europa League and the Conference League.
Last season, Thursday night Champions League games occurred as part of UEFA's shake-up of their three continental cup competitions. This season, the change allows for an extra night for midweek substitutions in Fantasy Champions League. However, there are no Thursday night slots for the week commencing September 15 due to the timeline of the competitions.
The Champions League games will commence a week before the Europa League equivalent. The first matchday of the 2025/26 group stage is spread over three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) to accommodate all fixtures, which is why some games take place on a Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday or Wednesday. Games moved to Thursday night include: FC Copenhagen vs Bayer Leverkusen, Brugge vs Monaco, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Galatasaray, Sporting vs Kairat, Newcastle vs Barcelona, and Manchester City vs Napoli.
Arsenal was the only English side affected by the shift last season. This season, Manchester City's match against Newcastle United, among others, is scheduled on Thursday, September 18, 2025. Nottingham Forest will play Real Betis, and Celtic will visit Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) on Wednesday 24 September, instead of Thursday, due to the Europa League covering both evenings that week.
The Conference League starts two weeks after the Champions League league phase. Games from the other competitions are spread out as a one-off each season to help fill in the gap left by the Champions League and Europa League. UEFA has decided that the Champions League and Europa League will have their opening weeks to themselves in September.
The shift to Thursday nights for the Champions League games is an interesting development in the football calendar. Fans and fantasy football managers will have to adjust their schedules accordingly. Stay tuned for more updates on the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League season.
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