Six UEFA Champions League fixtures will take place on Thursday this week — an evening that football fans across the world typically associate with UEFA Europa League action. The reason behind the scheduling shift is straightforward: the Champions League has been handed an exclusive week to itself.

Because neither the Europa League nor the UEFA Conference League have kicked off yet, UEFA has cleared space in the calendar for the Champions League to occupy Thursday nights without competition from its sister tournaments. This is not a permanent change — from this point forward, Champions League matches will return exclusively to Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

A format introduced in 2024/25

This kind of dedicated, single-competition week is not entirely new. UEFA introduced the concept ahead of the 2024/25 season, granting each of the three major European club competitions — the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Conference League — one exclusive week per campaign in which they take centre stage alone. Last season, the Champions League received the same privilege during the opening match-week of the league phase.

Dates for the Europa League's and Conference League's exclusive weeks in the current campaign have not yet been announced.

What's on the card Thursday

The most high-profile fixture of the evening sees Manchester United host Sabah FK, the reigning champions of Azerbaijan and debutants in the Champions League. For United, it marks a return to European football's premier stage after years spent in the Europa League — and a welcome change of anthem on Thursday nights.

Elsewhere, last season's semi-finalists Bayern Munich entertain Bodo/Glimt, while Como open their doors to RB Leipzig. PSV, champions of the Eredivisie, face Shakhtar Donetsk; Slavia Prague lock horns with Lens; and Fenerbahce — who eliminated Lyon during qualification, setting off a chain of events that ultimately contributed to Malick Fofana's move to the Premier League — take on Roma.

The league phase, which rewards clubs with greater incentives the higher they climb in the Champions League table, got underway on Tuesday evening.