RB Leipzig will begin their Champions League campaign away at Como on Thursday, 10 September, with kickoff set for 21:00. The fixture gives Leipzig an unusual opening-night slot in a competition that is normally tied to Tuesday and Wednesday.
UEFA has now released the complete schedule, and that makes the opening round the immediate focus for Leipzig and the rest of the field. The first league-phase matchday is spread across three days, with Borussia Dortmund starting on 8 September at home to FC Villarreal at 21:00 and VfB Stuttgart hosting Viking FK on 9 September at 18:45 before Leipzig take their turn a day later.
From the second matchday onward, the competition returns to its familiar two-day rhythm on Tuesday and Wednesday. That is the simple reason Leipzig are opening on a Thursday: the first round is not being played in the old pattern, but across three days because the Europa League has not yet started.
The schedule also gives Leipzig a clear run of dates after the Como trip. They host Manchester City on 4 October at 21:00, host PSV Eindhoven on 13 October at 21:00, visit Real Madrid on 21 October at 21:00, host Lens on 24 November at 21:00 and finish the listed run away to Manchester United on 8 December at 21:00.
That spread of fixtures shows why the full release matters now. Leipzig’s early calendar is not just about one opener; it sets the rhythm for a stretch that includes a home game against Manchester City, an away match at Real Madrid and two more nights against PSV and Lens. The dates also sit alongside a broader Champions League opening in which each club is assigned a precise slot rather than the standard midweek pattern.
For Leipzig, the oddity is not the opponent or the venue but the day itself. A Thursday Champions League start stands out because the competition’s usual home has long been Tuesday and Wednesday, and this first matchday is the one moment when the schedule breaks that rule before settling back into place.
What comes next is already fixed on paper: Leipzig go to Como first, then face a sequence that includes Manchester City, PSV Eindhoven, Real Madrid, Lens and Manchester United. The question now is not when the Champions League begins for them, but how much of the campaign’s early shape will be decided by a calendar that is already unusually demanding.
