The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League gets underway tonight with the first of the group stages. Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona are in action so expect plenty of drama on the pitch. Follow our guide below to get a Champions League live stream and watch every 2020-21 fixture. We'll even explain how to stream the Champions League for free...
Lucky enough to live in Canada? DAZN has the rights to stream every Champions League fixture this season. Best of all, DAZN offers a FREE 1-month trial. Going to be outside Canada at the time? Simply use a VPN to access your free DAZN trial from anywhere in the world.
Despite the coronavirus restrictions, the 66th UEFA Champions League kicks off on Tuesday 20th October 2020. For the next six months, Europe's most prestigious clubs will do battle for a coveted place in the Champions League final, which is set for 29th May 2021 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
The group stages will comprise 32 teams playing in 16 matches across the continent. Lionel Messi's Barcelona are tonight's biggest draw but there's no shortage of top teams in action including Paris Saint-Germain vs Manchester United, Chelsea vs Sevilla and Lazio vs. Borussia Dortmund. All the aforementioned kick off at 8pm BST.
Read on to find out how you can live stream all the 2020-21 Champions League football, wherever you are in the world. Game on!
Watch a Champions League live stream for free
Football fans in Canada get the chance to watch the UEFA Champions League for free!
Popular sports streaming service DAZN has the rights to live stream every Champions League 2020-21 fixture, from the group stages to the knockouts and the final. Get your free 1-month trial here. You can cancel at any time and the trial includes Premier League, Serie A, Matchroom boxing, PDC darts and a host of other top sporting events. It's a pretty impressive service.
If you're a US resident, CBS All Access has the rights to live stream every Champions League 2020-21 fixture. CBS offers a 7-day free trial. Better than a poke in the eye, right?
Watch the Champions League 2020-21 free with this DAZN 1 month free trial
DAZN has the rights to the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, US Sports, Fightsports, and much more, live and on demand in Austria, Canada, Germany and Japan. Try free for one month. Cancel at anytime.View Deal
Sadly the DAZN free trial isn't available to those outside these regions. If you are a DAZN customer but travelling abroad, you'll need to sign up to a VPN service to make sure you can access the DAZN Champions League live stream wherever you are.
It's also worth noting that there are free streams on terrestrial channels such Match TV in Russia, if that's where you happen to be. You can find a full list of the world's broadcasters with rights to show the live Champions League football here.
Watch the Champions League anywhere in the world using a VPN
We'll look at the TV and live stream options for UK and USA-based Champions League fans below, but even after spending all that money on a subscription you're still not going to be able to watch the knock-out stage from another country.
There are certain territories where the Champions League football is free to watch (you can find a full list of the free Champions League broadcasters here along with the pay channels too). So, if you're away in one of these places, you may just need to tune in on your hotel TV or find a local bar.
Anywhere else and you'll want to get yourself a VPN instead. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can spoof an IP address which is local to the server you’d like to access. That way your service provider will think you’re in the correct country to do so and allow you to watch the Champions League on your subscription as if you were back home.
VPNs are also as useful for banking as they are at trying to watch video content or accessing websites people in your location are not supposed to do. They encrypt the data passing between you and the server, so that the information remains private.
So, whether you want to watch live football, enjoy another country’s Netflix library or just keep your browsing data private, then a VPN is well worth considering.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service and would recommend the following:
You can get three months free when you sign up to a year-long plan, bringing VPN access to smart devices including the Amazon Fire TV Stick, laptops, TVs and both Android and iOS mobiles and tablets. Express also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- NordVPN
Which comes in at as little as $2.99 (£2.29) per month and features 24/7 assistance
Once you’ve made your choice, all you need to do is sign in to your VPN service through whichever device you’d like to use to watch the match. When prompted to select a server, you need to pick one which is based in the country whose content you’d like to access. Then navigate to the relevant video streaming app or website and you’re in.
You can find a full list of the world's broadcasters with rights to show live the Champions League football here.
Watch the Champions League live the UK
Rights to show the UEFA Champions League in the UK belong to BT Sport, whose long-term deal to broadcast all matches from UEFA club competitions means you'll also be able to watch the Europa League.
BT Sport for existing BT TV customers from just £10
Upgrading to all four BT Sport channels is no big deal if you’re already a BT customer. Those with BT TV already can access the channels for £10 per month. BT Broadband customers can enjoy the BT Sport app and watch on the go for the same price.View Deal
New BT broadband and BT TV customers will gain access to the coverage free of charge, while it costs £10 each month for existing customers. Sky TV users can also add BT Sport to their existing package from £25 a month, but that will not include any 4K viewing.
BT Sport for Sky TV customers from £30 per month
Sky TV customers can add five BT Sport channels to their TV package for £30 per month either as a 12-month agreement of a rolling one-month contract.View Deal
Don't want to be locked into a contract? You can also opt for a BT Sport Monthly Pass, which costs £25 per month. It's a rolling one month contract and you can cancel anytime. The pass lets you stream all four BT Sport channels across iOS and Android devices, games consoles, Now TV set-top boxes, Roku players and Amazon Fire TV devices.
However you subscribe to BT Sport, though, you will get access to streams via the BT website and BT Sport app, so you can watch on the move within the UK or from abroad, using a VPN.
Watch the Champions League live in 4K
You can watch the Champions League in 4K HDR, beamed at 50fps on BT Sport Ultimate, channel 433. If you're hooked up specifically on the BT TV platform then it's also available in with Dolby Atmos sound.
The game is also available, minus the Atmos, for Virgin Media customers who subscribe to the BT Sport Collection. You can enjoy it in 4K HDR on channel 555.
BT Sport Ultimate is not available on the Sky TV platform but anyone with an Xbox One, Apple TV 4K, Samsung TV, Chromecast Ultra, Now TV device (4K only), Amazon Fire TV device (4K only) or Roku player (4K only) can watch the Champions League in 4K HDR using the BT Sport app with the BT Sport Monthly Pass for just £25. No contract required.
BT Sport Monthly Pass for £25 per month
Enjoy the Champions League, FA Cup, Premier League and more in 4K HDR, all contract-free through the BT Sport app on games consoles, Apple TV and Samsung TVs. You do not need to be a BT customer and can opt out at any time.View Deal
The other option is to give yourself over to BT entirely and, right now, there's a very reasonable BT Sport/Broadband/BT TV deal on offer. It doesn't bring the very fastest speeds nor the most channels either but it still allows you to watch BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3 and BT Sport 4 with access to the 4K HDR streams through the BT Sport app.
BT Sport, BT TV and BT Broadband for £35 per month
The awesome Big Sport deal saves you £120 and gets you every single Champions League game, 61 live Premier League games, Freeview, a recordable box, all 11 Sky Sports channels, line rental, fibre broadband and more. It's a 24 month contract with a £30 upfront payment.View Deal
Those on Virgin Media will need the Virgin V6 box and a 4K TV to make sure they're getting the action at maximum resolution. With the basic Big Bundle, BT Sport is £18 per month but all five BT Sport channels, including Ultra HD, are included on the larger TV packages which start at £57 per month. More details on Virgin Media TV bundles.
BT Sport Collection on Virgin Media for £18 per month
The BT Sport Collection on Virgin Media is a £18 bolt-on, at the time of writing. It brings coverage of football, rugby, cricket, UFC and more, plus access to BT Sport Ultra HD for 4K viewing. You can cancel the subscription at any time.View Deal
Watch the Champions League live in the USA
Every single UEFA Champions League match this season can be streamed on CBS All Access. Monthly plans start at just $5.99 per month or you can opt to pay annually (this should save you around 15%).
CBS generously offers a 7-day free trial.
The other option is to subscribe to fuboTV, a sports streaming service that carries CBS. It costs around $60 per month but offers a free 7-day trial.
Take a look at the schedules on their website to work how to follow your favourite team, and don’t forget to use a VPN if you’re watching from abroad.
Champions League Group Fixtures 2020-21
All matched kick off at 8pm BST unless stated.
Tuesday 20th October
Group E: Chelsea vs Sevilla, Rennes vs Krasnodar
Group F: Zenit vs Club Brugge (5.55pm BST), Lazio vs Dortmund
Group G: Dynamo Kyiv vs Juventus (5.55pm BST), Barcelona vs Ferencváros
Group H: Paris vs Manchester United, Leipzig vs İstanbul Başakşehir
Wednesday 21st October
Group A: Salzburg vs Lokomotiv Moskva (5.55pm BST), Bayern vs Atlético Madrid
Group B: Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk (5.55pm BST), Internazionale vs Mönchengladbach
Group C: Manchester City vs Porto, Olympiacos vs Marseille
Group D: Ajax vs Liverpool, Midtjylland vs Atalanta
Tuesday 27rd October
Group A: Lokomotiv Moskva vs Bayern (5.55pm BST), Atlético Madrid vs Salzburg
Group B: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Internazionale (5.55pm BST), Mönchengladbach vs Real Madrid
Group C: Porto vs Olympiacos, Marseille vs Manchester City
Group D: Liverpool vs Midtjylland, Atalanta vs Ajax
Wednesday 28th October
Group E: Krasnodar vs Chelsea (5.55pm BST), Sevilla vs Rennes
Group F: Dortmund vs Zenit, Club Brugge vs Lazio
Group G: Juventus vs Barcelona, Ferencváros vs Dynamo Kyiv
Group H: İstanbul Başakşehir vs Paris (5.55pm BST), Manchester United vs Leipzig
Tuesday 3rd November
Group A: Lokomotiv Moskva vs Atlético Madrid (5.55pm BST), Salzburg vs Bayern
Group B: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Mönchengladbach (5.55pm BST), Real Madrid vs Internazionale
Group C: Manchester City vs Olympiacos, Porto vs Marseille
Group D: Midtjylland vs Ajax, Atalanta vs Liverpool
Wednesday 4th November
Group E: Sevilla vs Krasnodar, Chelsea vs Rennes
Group F: Zenit vs Lazio (5.55pm BST), Club Brugge vs Dortmund
Group G: Barcelona vs Dynamo Kyiv, Ferencváros vs Juventus
Group H: İstanbul Başakşehir vs Manchester United (5.55pm BST), Leipzig vs Paris
Tuesday 24th November
Group E: Krasnodar vs Sevilla (5.55pm BST), Rennes vs Chelsea (5.55pm BST)
Group F: Lazio vs Zenit, Dortmund vs Club Brugge
Group G: Dynamo Kyiv vs Barcelona, Juventus vs Ferencváros
Group H: Manchester United vs İstanbul Başakşehir, Paris vs Leipzig
Wednesday 25th November
Group A: Atlético Madrid vs Lokomotiv Moskva, Bayern vs Salzburg
Group B: Mönchengladbach vs Shakhtar Donetsk (5.55pm BST), Internazionale vs Real Madrid
Group C: Olympiacos vs Manchester City (5.55pm BST), Marseille vs Porto
Group D: Liverpool vs Atalanta, Ajax vs Midtjylland
Tuesday 1st December
Group A: Lokomotiv Moskva vs Salzburg (5.55pm BST), Atlético Madrid vs Bayern
Group B: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid (5.55pm BST), Mönchengladbach vs Internazionale
Group C: Marseille vs Olympiacos, Porto vs Manchester City
Group D: Liverpool vs Ajax, Atalanta vs Midtjylland
Wednesday 2nd December
Group E: Krasnodar vs Rennes (5.55pm BST), Sevilla vs Chelsea
Group F: Dortmund vs Lazio, Club Brugge vs Zenit
Group G: Juventus vs Dynamo Kyiv, Ferencváros vs Barcelona
Group H: İstanbul Başakşehir vs Leipzig (5.55pm BST), Manchester United vs Paris
Tuesday 8th December
Group E: Chelsea vs Krasnodar, Rennes vs Sevilla
Group F: Zenit vs Dortmund (5.55pm BST), Lazio vs Club Brugge (5.55pm BST)
Group G: Barcelona vs Juventus, Dynamo Kyiv vs Ferencváros
Group H: Paris vs İstanbul Başakşehir, Leipzig vs Manchester United
Wednesday 9th December
Group A: Bayern vs Lokomotiv Moskva, Salzburg vs Atlético Madrid
Group B: Real Madrid vs Mönchengladbach, Internazionale vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Group C: Manchester City vs Marseille, Olympiacos vs Porto
Group D: Ajax vs Atalanta (5.55pm BST), Midtjylland vs Liverpool (5.55pm BST)