How does the new Champions League format work?

The UEFA Champions League is returning, but it's not returning in the same manner. A new format for the 2024–2025 Champions League season marks perhaps the biggest change in the competition's history.

After rebranding, Europe's top club competition has given up on the conventional group stage format as it begins its 33rd season.

Rather, advancement to the knockout stages will be decided by a redesigned league stage with 36 clubs and two additional rounds of midweek matches.In an attempt to defend a continental title they won for the fifteenth time earlier this year, Real Madrid will square off in the competition final in May at Munich's Allianz Arena .

This year's 36 clubs in the Champions League will constitute a single league, as opposed to the 32 competing teams being split into eight groups of four. For a total of eight fixtures – two more than under the previous format – each participant will play four games at home and four games away. These eight matches will feature eight distinct opponents.

Based on each club's individual club coefficient at the beginning of the season, the 36 clubs will be seeded into four distinct pots. Two teams from each pot will play each other, one at home and one away. Real Madrid, the reigning champions, and the other top club teams based on the UEFA coefficient will be in Pot 1.

In terms of the draw , which took place on August 29 in Monte Carlo , Monaco, automated software instead randomly picked eight opponents for each side in turn across the four pots, and allocated which fixtures are at home and away.

Previously, former footballers reached repeatedly into pots to draw out balls and determine groups.

Another change for this year is that teams can no longer go from the Champions League into the Europa League (or from the UEFA Europa League into the UEFA Conference League ).

Pots for 2024-25 Champions League draw

When will the games be played?

On Saturday, August 31, UEFA intends to release the fixture list's order. To avoid a challenging start or finish, clubs are not permitted to play opponents from Pot 1 on the match days 1 and 2 or 7 and 8. Liverpool is now unable to play Real Madrid and RB Leipzig, two Pot 1 teams, in those back-to-back weeks.

Eight match days will be dedicated to the Champions League, with the remaining two being used to provide separate weeks for the Conference League and Europa League. The first match day is expected to be the week of September 17.

With six games played before Christmas and the final two rounds on January 21–22 and January 29, the Champions League phase will now conclude in January rather than December.

How can I watch the Champions League?

The 2024–25 Champions League will be available for live viewing on TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video.

For the first time since 2015, the competition is coming back to terrestrial television, with highlights airing on the BBC. Wednesday nights will feature a midweek Match of the Day on the broadcaster.

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