It’s the time of the year that most soccer fans look forward to — the return of the UEFA Champions League. Beginning in September, the biggest clubs in Europe start their journey through the Group stages as they try to progress through the competition and dream of an appearance in the final at the San Siro in Milan, Italy.

To help make your experience as enjoyable as possible, we’ve put together a preview, which also includes the schedule and TV times (that are available).

SEE MORE: Where to find the UEFA Champions League on US TV and streaming.

Here’s our preview of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage:

Group A

Welcome to the big stage, Malmö. After defeating Celtic in the playoff round, what is your reward? Ties against Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk.

It’ll be fascinating to see how PSG’s marquee summer signing, Angel di Maria, is deployed and what impact he has particularly against his former club. Gone from the Parisian side is midfielder Yohan Cabaye but his involvement in last season’s campaign was minimal.

Real Madrid’s marquee signing never arrived. The David de Gea saga dragged on right until the last minutes of the transfer window but the deal never went through. Accusations have flown in both directions and perhaps we’ll never know what really happened. Regardless of who scuppered the deal, Real did replace a couple of parts of their starting XI. In the midfield, Croatian Mateo Kovačić has joined from Internazionale while Asier Illarramendi and Sami Khedira have departed. Khedira’s contract expired and he signed with Serie A champions Juventus. The player to watch is Danilo Luiz da Silva. Joining from Porto for €31.5M, he and fellow Brazilian Marcelo should give Real a lot of width when on the attack.

I expect PSG and Real Madrid to battle over the top 2 spots and I see PSG finishing just ahead of Real Madrid with probably a win at home and a draw away at the Spanish side. Despite the personnel loss, Douglas Costa, Luiz Adriano and Fernando all departed over the summer, Shakhtar Donetsk should have enough to get themselves into a Europa League spot.

Despite their good performance against Celtic, Malmö are unlikely to make much impact in this group.

TV schedule:

Tuesday, September 15

Real Madrid vs. Shakhtar Donetsk, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer 2Go and ESPN Deportes
PSG vs Malmo, 2:45pm ET, ESPN2 and FOX Soccer 2Go, ESPN3 and WatchESPN

Wednesday, September 30

Malmo vs. Real Madrid, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer 2Go
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. PSG, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, October 21

PSG vs. Real Madrid, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes and FOX Soccer 2Go
Malmo vs. Shakhtar Donetsk, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, November 3

Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 1:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Malmo, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, November 25

Malmo vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Real Madrid, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, December 8

PSG vs. Shakhtar Donetsk, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Real Madrid vs. Malmo, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group B

The draw was again kind to Manchester United.. PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moskva and Wolfsburg round out the group but it could have been much tougher.

Matchday 1 sees Manchester United travel to PSV and there are many interesting storylines. The return of PSV’s top scorer from last season, Memphis Depay. PSV coach Phillip Cocu pitted against Louis van Gaal, a man he played for both with FC Barcelona and the Dutch national team. Matchday 1 drama aside, Manchester United should be in contention for a spot in the knockout round. Goalscoring has been an issue domestically but they looked assured in dispatching Club Brugge in the playoff round. I’m not sure United have enough to win top spot in the group but second place should be doable.

Their main rivals at the top of the group should be Wolfsburg but it remains to be seen how the departure of Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City and Ivan Perišić to Inter will affect Die Wölfe. Wolfsburg were not just sellers in the transfer market. They went out and bought the services of forward Max Kruse from Mönchengladbach, attacking midfielder Julian Draxler from Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich defender Dante. Those additions to an already strong squad should see them into the Round of 16.

The battle for a Europa League spot will be tight. PSV have lost top of their top attacking threats from last season, the aforementioned forward Memphis Depay and attacking midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum (sold to Newcastle) but striker Luuk de Jong and wingers Florian Jozefzoon, Luciano Narsingh and newly signed Maxime Lestienne give the Dutch depth up front. Russian Premier League runners-up CSKA are in good form domestically and will test all of the sides in this group. Their qualification to the Champions League was narrow so they will need to make the most of their home games or it could be a long winter in Moscow bereft of European football adventures.

TV schedule:

Tuesday, September 15

PSV vs Manchester United, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Wolfsburg vs CSKA, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go and ESPN 3

Wednesday, September 30

Manchester United vs. Wolfsburg, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2Go
CSKA Moscow vs. PSV Eindhoven, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, October 21

CSKA Moscow vs. Manchester United, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Wolfsburg vs. PSV Eindhoven, 2:45pm ET, ESPN 3 and FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, November 3

Manchester United vs. CSKA Moscow, 1:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2GO
PSV Eindhoven vs. Wolfsburg, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, November 25

CSKA Moscow vs. Wolfsburg, Noon ET, FOX Sports 1, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Manchester United vs. PSV, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1, ESPN Deportes and FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, December 8

Wolfsburg vs. Manchester United, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2GO
PSV vs. CSKA Moscow, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group C

This group should be quite straightforward. Atlético should top the group though away matches to Benfica and Galatasaray will prove tricky. Plus, it’s been another summer of personnel changes at the Rojiblancos. Just a few of the outgoing players are Arda Turan, Mario Mandzukic, Toby Alderweireld and Mario Suárez. In some areas, Atlético may have actually gotten stronger. Certainly I’d say Jackson Martinez can be viewed as an upgrade on Mandzukic. Stefan Savić is only 24 but has good experience from his time with Fiorentina including their deep run in the Europa League last season. Returning from Chelsea is left back Filipe Luís, while providing more depth up front is Luciano Vietto, signed from Villarreal.

The battle for second will be close but I’d give the edge to Galatasaray simply because they continue to employ Wesley Sneijder in the midfield. I still rate him as one of the finest midfielders in the game. It doesn’t hurt that he has other quality players around him like German forward Lukas Podolski as well as a good dose of Turkish talent like winger Olcan Adın or forward Burak Yilmaz.

Debutants Astana are the first-ever representatives from Kazakhstan to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage. Despite the potential underdog drama, Astana will be hard pressed to register a point. And if they do, it will likely come at home against Benfica or Atlético. It’s quite likely that the 9-10 hour flight time from Spain or Portugal will have some effect on the players.

TV schedule:

Tuesday, September 15

Galatasaray vs Atletico Madrid, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go and ESPN Deportes
Benfica vs. Astana, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, September 30

Astana vs. Galatasaray, Noon ET, FOX Soccer Plus and FOX Soccer 2Go
Atletico Madrid vs. Benfica, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, October 21

Atletico Madrid vs. Astana, 2:45pm ET, ESPN 3 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Galatasaray vs. Benfica, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, November 3

Astana vs. Atletico Madrid, 10am ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Benfica vs. Galatasaray, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, November 25

Astana vs. Benfica, 10am ET, FOX Sports 1, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Atletico Madrid vs. Galatasaray, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, December 8

Galatasaray vs. Astana, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Benfica vs. Atletico Madrid, 2:45pm ET, ESPN2, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group D

Full disclosure – I’m a Manchester United supporter. Even I can feel some sympathy for Manchester City and yet another tough group to overcome, having to face away matches to Juventus, Sevilla, and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Manchester City have started the season in dominant form. Four games played, 4 wins, 10 goals scored and none conceded. However, the Champions League has proved to be a rocky road for them. I do think they’ll continue their form and finish top of the group. The Blues have splashed the green all summer long. Raheem Sterling – £49m, Kevin De Bruyne – £54.5m, Nicolás Otamendi – £28.4m. Their squad is as deep and dangerous as ever. There will be plenty of pace on the wings and increased solidity at the back.

Juventus has had some major turnover in their squad and while they won’t completely collapse, City should prove to be the stronger side. Gone are Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo. In have come midfielder Sami Khedira as well as strikers Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandžukić. Things have not gotten off to a great start as Juve have lost their opening two Serie A matches. I feel confident the fortunes will turn but a slow start in the group stage could lead to disaster with Sevilla posing the most direct threat.

After a long, long exile (37 years to be exact), Borussia Mönchengladbach return to Europe’s top stage. Their reward is a Matchday 1 trip to Sevilla who got the better of Mönchengladbach en-route to winning the UEFA Europa League last season. Winning the Europa League ensured Sevilla’s participation in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2009/10. Mönchengladbach will hope new permanent signing Thorgan Hazard can build on his showing while on loan last season and find some of the electric form his older brother Eden often displays for Chelsea.

TV schedule:

Tuesday, September 15

Manchester City vs Juventus, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Sevilla vs Monchengladbach, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go and ESPN 3

Wednesday, September 30

Manchester City vs. Borussia Monchengladbach, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Juventus vs. Sevilla, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, October 21

Manchester City vs. Sevilla, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net, ESPN Deportes and FOX Soccer 2Go
Juventus vs. Borussia Monchengladbach, 2:45pm ET, ESPN 2 and FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, November 3

Sevilla vs. Manchester City, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net, ESPN3 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Juventus, 2:45pm ET, ESPN2, WatchESPN.com, FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, November 25

Juventus vs. Manchester City, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Sevilla, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, December 8

Manchester City vs. Borussia Monchengladbach, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Sevilla vs. Juventus, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group E

And the beat goes on for last season’s champions Barcelona. Until someone comes up with a reliable and legal way to neutralize the front three of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar, Barcelona should cruise through to the Round of 16.

The battle for second should come down to Bayer Leverkusen and Roma. Leverkusen’s big signing was Javier Hernandez from Manchester United. Chicharito was never in Louis van Gaal’s plans and gets a chance at a fresh start in Germany. His goalscoring prowess should bolster an already strong attack.

Roma were a little more active in the transfer market and appear to have the deeper squad. Loan signings of Edin Džeko and Mohamed Salah provide depth up front, while other loan signings of Slovakian defender Norbert Gyömbér, French left back Lucas Digne and German centre back Antonio Rüdiger give great depth in defense. All 5 signings are international caliber players.

BATE Borisov will have to hope for a major meltdown by Leverkusen or Roma to finish third and shift into the Europa League.

TV schedule:

Wednesday, September 16

Roma vs Barcelona, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Bayer Leverkusen vs. BATE Borisov, 2:45pm, ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, September 29

Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2Go
BATE Borisov vs. Roma, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, October 20

BATE Borisov vs. Barcelona, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net, ESPN Deportes and FOX Soccer 2Go
Bayer Leverkusen vs. AS Roma, 2:45pm ET, ESPN 2, ESPN 3 and FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, November 4

Barcelona vs. BATE Borisov, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO
Roma vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, November 24

BATE Borisov vs. Bayer Leverkusen, Noon ET, FOX Sports 1, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Barcelona vs. AS Roma, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, December 9

Roma vs. BATE Borisov, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, December 9

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Barcelona, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group F

This one seemed to be the easiest group to predict. Bayern finishes first, Arsenal second. There is simply too much disparity between those two and the smaller clubs in the group — Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos.

Bayern strengthened over the summer with the signings of striker Douglas Costa and midfield maestro Arturo Vidal. An early concern for Bayern will be the absence of talismanic winger Arjen Robben but he is expected to return to action in 3-4 weeks time.

Arsenal are struggling for goals at the moment and there was much frustration amongst the Gunners supporters that manager Arsene Wenger did not add a forward to the squad. Particularly when it was revealed Danny Welbeck would be out of action until Christmas due to a knee injury. Welbeck’s imjury leaves Olivier Giroud as the Gunners’ only recognized striker with Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez mainly used as wide players. However, a squad with creative talents such as Mesut Özil, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey shouldn’t be pitied too much. They may not have enough to beat Bayern but they will qualify for the Round of 16 comfortably.

The battle for third will likely come down to how Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb fare against one another. It’s very unlikely they’ll take points off of the top two. Flip a coin here.

TV schedule:

Wednesday, September 16

GNK Dinamo vs Arsenal, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Olympiacos vs Bayern Munich, 2:45pm ET, ESPN2 and FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, September 29

Arsenal vs. Olympiacos, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Bayern Munich vs. Dinamo Zagreb, 2:45pm ET, ESPN2 and FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, October 20

Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2, FOX Deportes and FOX Soccer 2Go
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Olympiacos, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, November 4

Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1, ESPN Deportes and FOX Soccer 2GO
Olympiacos vs. Dinamo Zagreb, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, November 24

Arsenal vs. Dinamo Zagreb, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 1 ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Bayern Munich vs. Olympiacos, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, December 9

Olympiacos vs. Arsenal, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Dinamo Zagreb vs. Bayern Munich, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group G

Chelsea can be thankful for an easier drawing as their domestic campaign has gotten off to a rocky start. With only 4 points from their first 5 games, Chelsea sit near the relegation dropzone, which is very unfamiliar and uncomfortable ground for last season’s English champions. I do believe Jose Mourinho will get Chelsea back on track and lead them to first place in the group but the journey might not be as smooth as hoped.

From an outsider’s perspective, Chelsea had a mixed transfer market. They failed to bring in their top target — Everton center back John Stones. They did manage to sign Pedro from Barcelona, who many thought was headed to Manchester United. Whether they need Pedro or depth in other areas remains to be seen. Certainly the main struggle has been defending, not scoring. Their inability to contain or close down wide players with pace has contributed to their awful start.

This could play right into one of Porto’s strengths. Their summer signings Aly Cissokho and Jesus ‘Tecatito’ Corona have the type of speed and dribbling skills to continue the Chelsea woes. Chelsea face Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Matchday 1 but danger looms there as well with attacking midfielder Eran Zahavi in good form. Zahavi finished the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase and play-off round as the top goalscorer with 7 goals in 5 games.

I’d be remiss to overlook Dynamo Kyiv who are chasing Shakhtar Donetsk for first place in the Ukrainian Premier League. Their key man is forward Andriy Yarmolenko who has recorded 6 goals from 8 games in all competitions this season. Further attacking verve has come from Brazilian Júnior Moraes with 3 goals in 6 domestic league matches.

I’m predicting Chelsea top, Porto second, Dynamo third and Maccabi to finish last.

TV schedule:

Wednesday, September 16

Chelsea vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2Go
Dynamo Kiev vs. Porto, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, September 29

Porto vs. Chelsea, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net, FOX Deportes, ESPN3 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs. Dynamo Kiev, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, October 20

Dynamo Kiev vs Chelsea, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer Plus, ESPN 3 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Porto vs. Maccabi Tel-Aviv, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, November 4

Chelsea vs. Dynamo Kiev, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3 and FOX Soccer 2GO
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Porto, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, November 24

Porto vs. Dynamo Kiev, 2:45pm ET, ESPN2, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Chelsea, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net and FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, December 9

Chelsea vs. Porto, 2:45pm ET, FOX Sports Net, ESPN Deportes and FOX Soccer 2GO
Dynamo Kiev vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Group H

This could prove to be the closest of all the groups. Russian champions Zenit will be favored but Valencia and Lyon will give them a good run.

As of press time, Zenit are currently 6 points off the lead in the the Russian league after 7 matches. New quota rules saw them forced to dump forward Salomón Rondón. They also parted ways with veterans Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Andrey Arshavin. Despite the high profile departures, they still have plenty of star power in Brazilian forward Hulk, midfielder Oleg Shatov and defender Ezequiel Garay.

Valencia defeated Monaco in the previous playoff round but had to hang on through a nervy second leg. They’ll hope for a more composed showing in the group stage. The signings of striker Álvaro Negredo and winger Rodrigo Moreno have already paid dividends and the club will need more from those two to progress to the next round.

Lyon may have made one of the better bargain signing this summer by capturing the services of Mathieu Valbuena for €5M. Valbuena brings pace and tremendous technical ability to the squad. While he won’t contribute a lot of goals, he will create many. His best seasons with Marseille saw him record 16 and 14 assists. He recorded 15 assists in his one full season in the Russian league. Lyon will be lamenting the loss of last season’s Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year on their roster. Nabil Fekir tore up his knee while on international duty and will be lost to the club for 6 months. He’d started this season well with 4 goals from his last two domestic matches.

Lyon have a potential easy start as they take on KAA Gent on Matchday 1. Gent are the reigning Belgian champions and are making their debut appearance in the Champions League. Gent’s participation in the UEFA Champions League is their reward for winning the first Belgian title in their 115-year history. Erik Johansson suffered a knee ligament injury while training with Sweden in early September and is expected to be out for four to six weeks. Johansson’s loss takes what little Champions League experience Gent had. The Swedish center back played in the group stage for Malmö in 2014 and was named Allsvenskan defender of the year for his domestic league performances.

TV schedule:

Wednesday, September 16

Valencia vs Zenit, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go
Gent vs Lyon, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, September 29

Lyon vs. Valencia, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go
Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Gent, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2Go

Tuesday, October 20

Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Lyon, 2:45pm ET, ESPN 3 and FOX Soccer 2Go
Valencia vs. Gent, 2:45pm ET, ESPN 3 and FOX Soccer 2Go

Wednesday, November 4

Gent vs. Valencia, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO
Lyon vs. Zenit St. Petersburg, 2:45pm ET, FOX Soccer 2GO

Tuesday, November 24

Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Valencia, Noon ET, FOX Sports 2, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Lyon vs. Gent, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO

Wednesday, December 9

Valencia vs. Lyon, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO
Gent vs. Zenit St. Petersburg, 2:45pm ET, ESPN3.com and FOX Soccer 2GO