Manchester United are one of the teams in action on Thursday (Photo: Getty) The Champions League returns this week with 18 matches taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. While Tuesday and Wednesday matches are a traditional part of the competition, Thursday games are less familiar to Champions League spectators. This comes as UEFA has decided that the first week of the Champions League should be competition-exclusive, with no Europa League or Conference League matches taking place. Meanwhile, the Europa League exclusive week will take place on Wednesday 16 September and Thursday 17 September. Exclusive Premier League reviews Stay ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Register now for free. After an exclusive first week, the Champions League will return to its normal schedule, with games to be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. By the way, the Europa League will also return to its Thursday evening program, starting from the second match day. Bayern Munich will have to wait until Thursday to kick off the campaign (Photo: Getty) Manchester United are among the teams to play in the Champions League on Thursday this week, with Michael Carrick’s men hosting Azerbaijani club Sabah at Old Trafford. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich welcome last season’s surprise Bodo/Glimt to the Allianz Arena, while Champions League debutants Como play RB Leipzig. First round of the Champions League Starts at 20:00 unless otherwise stated Tuesday, September 8 Club Brugge – Aston Villa (17:45) AEK Athens – LASK (17:45) Porto vs Manchester City Real Madrid vs Inter Dortmund vs Villarreal Lille vs Betis Wednesday, September 9 Barcelona – Feyenoord (17:45) Stuttgart – Viking (17:45) Napoli vs Arsenal Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid PSG vs Slovan Bratislava Sporting vs Galatasaray Thursday, September 10 Fenerbahce – Roma (17:45) PSV – Shakhtar (Donetsk) (17:45) Bayern vs Bodo/Glimt Slavia Prague vs Lens Como vs RB Leipzig Manchester United vs Sabah What about early starts? The first round fixtures consist of six games, starting at 5:45 p.m., with early matches remaining part of the Champions League schedule throughout the season. Ask Metro Use AI to dig deeper into the stories you care about, powered by Metro and trusted publications. Early kick-off times have been introduced by UEFA for club competitions in 2021 in an attempt to increase match viewing at international level. However, the move has not been universally popular, with a common complaint being that fans returning home from work often miss kick-off on television. The early start also leaves little time for match-going fans to get to the stadium on time after work, not to mention the fact that they often travel during peak hours on public transport. Arrow MORE: Paul Scholes calls on Michael Carrick to drop Manchester United star against Manchester City Arrow MORE: Wayne Rooney criticizes Manchester United management for two transfer mistakes Arrow MORE: Lothar Matthäus names one English club among top five Champions League favorites Comment now Comments Add Metro as your preferred source on Google Add as preferred source Post navigation The Republican Party will hold an unusual midterm convention. And Canada’s retaliatory tariffs take effect LIV Golf: Jon Rahm unaffected by ‘turbulence’ over future tour