When is the Champions League returning? Dates, schedule, fixtures and games for UEFA tournament in 2023

Simon Borg

When is the Champions League returning? Dates, schedule, fixtures and games for UEFA tournament in 2023 image

After an unusually long break because of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 2022/23 Champions League returns with the likes of reigning champions Real Madrid and bookmakers' favourites Manchester City vying for a place in the quarterfinals.

World Cup top scorer Kylian Mbappe leads the individual goals chart in the competition alongside Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, with Premier League Golden Boot frontrunner Erling Haaland not far behind on five Champions League goals for City.

Lionel Messi led Argentina to glory against Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappe's France in Qatar, and their club side faces a showdown with one of the most successful sides in Champions League history when they meet Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich in the Round of 16. There are question marks over the fitness of both PSG stars, though.

Here's when the action will play out, who's playing who and the full schedule when the most prestigious club competition in Europe resumes.

MORE: Champions League draw in full: The Round of 16 ties

When is the Champions League returning?

The Round of 16 draw on Monday, November 7 did not disappoint. Real Madrid against Liverpool — a rerun of the 2022 final — was among the biggest ties.

All eyes were on PSG's Round of 16 fate and they face a daunting two-legged affair against Bayern. They'll be hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2021/22 season, when their bid for their first Champions League trophy ended at the first knockout stage after a difficult draw, losing to eventual champions Real Madrid.

Champions League Round of 16 fixtures

Match* 1st Leg 2nd Leg
Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig Feb. 22 March 14
Benfica vs. Club Brugge Feb. 15 March 7
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool Feb. 21 March 15
Tottenham vs. AC Milan Feb. 14 March 8
Napoli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt Feb. 21 March 15
Chelsea vs. Borussia Dortmund Feb. 15 March 7
Porto vs. Inter Milan Feb. 22 March 14
Bayern Munich vs. PSG Feb. 14 March 8

*Teams listed first are group winners and will host the second leg.

Champions League Round of 16 schedule

Round of 16 — 1st Legs

Date Match Time
(GMT / ET)
Tues, Feb. 14 AC Milan vs. Tottenham 20:00 / 15:00
Tues, Feb. 14 PSG vs. Bayern Munich 20:00 / 15:00
Wed, Feb. 15 Club Brugge vs. Benfica 20:00 / 15:00
Wed, Feb. 15 Borussia Dortmund vs. Chelsea 20:00 / 15:00
Tues, Feb. 21 Liverpool vs. Real Madrid 20:00 / 15:00
Tues, Feb. 21 Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Napoli 20:00 / 15:00
Wed, Feb. 22 RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City 20:00 / 15:00
Wed, Feb. 22 Inter Milan vs. FC Porto 20:00 / 15:00

Round of 16 — 2nd Legs

Date Match Time
(GMT / ET)
Tues, March 7 Benfica vs. Club Brugge 20:00 / 15:00
Tues, March 7 Chelsea vs. Borussia Dortmund 20:00 / 15:00
Wed, March 8 Tottenham vs. AC Milan 20:00 / 15:00
Wed, March 8 Bayern Munich vs. PSG 20:00 / 15:00
Tues, March 14 Manchester City vs. RB Leipzig 20:00 / 16:00
Tues, March 14 FC Porto vs. Inter Milan 20:00 / 16:00
Wed, March 15 Real Madrid vs. Liverpool 20:00 / 16:00
Wed, March 15 Napoli vs. Eintracht Frankfurt 20:00 / 16:00

MORE: Prize money breakdown for the 2022/23 Champions League

Champions League live streams, TV channels

Below are the TV and streaming destinations for UEFA Champions League matches in select regions around the globe:

  TV Channel Streaming
Australia  — Stan Sport
Canada  — DAZN
Hong Kong  beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
India  Sony TEN Sony LIV, JioTV
Malaysia  beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
New Zealand  — Spark Sport
Singapore  beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
UK  BT Sport BT Sport site/app
USA  CBS Sports Network,
CBS, Univision, TUDN
UniMas
fuboTV, Paramount+,
ViX, ViX+

Australia: Fans can watch every match of the UEFA Champions League with all the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.

Canada: Every Champions League match in Canada can be streamed exclusively on DAZN

UK: The UEFA Champions League is carried by BT Sport's TV and streaming platforms.

USA: Fans in the USA can watch the Champions League in English (CBS and Paramount+) and Spanish (Univision, TUDN, UniMas, ViX and ViX+).

When matches are televised on CBS or Univision channels, those same channels are streamed on fuboTV, which is available on a free trial for new users.

MORE: Final group standings for the 2022/23 Champions League

When is the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal draw?

Once we have the final eight teams left standing after the Round of 16, the Champions League quarterfinal draw will take place on Friday, March 17, 2023.

That day, the draw will also take place for the semifinals and final so that every club will know their path to the title.

It's worth noting that beginning with the quarterfinal draw, country restrictions disappear and any team can be drawn against any other, including those from the same nation.

Six of the eight quarterfinalists from last season's edition have a chance to reach the final-eight stage for a second season in a row when they play in the Round of 16: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid.

MORE: When is the 2023 UEFA Champions League final?

Karim Benzema Champions League trophy
Getty

Champions League schedule for knockout rounds

With a mid-season men's FIFA World Cup tournament and the resulting scheduling congestion, the rest of the 2023 Champions League knockout schedule will stretch out until June.

The current schedule contemplates one round of knockout matches every month between April and June to take us from the quarterfinals to the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.

  • Quarterfinals: April 11/12 (1st Leg), April 18/19 (2nd Leg)
  • Semifinals: May 9/10 (1st Leg), May 16/17 (2nd Leg)
  • Final: Saturday, June 10

No away goals in Champions League

The away goals tiebreaker, which had been a feature of the tournament's knockout rounds since 1965, was abolished for the 2021/22 edition with UEFA citing sporting justice among other reasons.

If teams are level on total goals scored after the conclusion of the second leg, then a 30-minute extra-time period will be played with a penalty shootout used to determine a winner if the deadlock persists.

There were only two knockout-round matchups that needed extra time in 2021/22 and both featured eventual champions Real Madrid.

The Spanish champions needed extra time to knock off English foes Chelsea (quarterfinals) and Manchester City (semifinals) before taking care of Liverpool in the final within the 90 minutes of regulation.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.