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The most prestigious club competition is back with the Champions League league phase getting underway on Tuesday. It’s the trophy that every club desperately wants to win and it’s viewed as the pinnacle for players. From the iconic theme song to the immense history of the competition, the Champions League draws eyes from every corner of the world.

The competition was reformatted last season with the league phase replacing the group stages and all 36 participating clubs are now guaranteed seven fixtures. The top eight clubs automatically progress to the last 16 with the teams finishing between 9th and 24th progressing into a play-off. The Champions League league phase draw was made last month in Monaco and we’ve analysed which clubs have the hardest seven fixtures based on the Transfermarkt market values of their opponents.

Which club has the most difficult Champions League league phase fixtures?

PSG famously won their maiden Champions League crown last May, thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final but Luis Enrique’s men have the toughest league phase fixtures, based on market value. The combined market value of PSG’s seven opponents is €5.22 billion with tough fixtures against Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Newcastle United. As the graphic below illustrates, Eintracht Frankfurt ranks second as the only other club with opponents exceeding the €5bn threshold.

 The Bundesliga club face Liverpool, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Tottenham after qualifying for the first time in their history through their league position – they featured 2022/23 after winning the Europa League. Interestingly, no English Premier League club makes the top ten list and the fact they can’t draw each other is a major factor with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool amongst the five most valuable clubs in the world.