Yahoo Sports Champions League draw – New format, pots and draw explained
The Champions League will look different in 2024/25 and Thursday evening brings the draw for the new-look league phase.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will all learn their opponents, as UEFA relaunch and expand their flagship competition in the new campaign.
Here is everything you need to know.
Champions League draw – New format, pots and draw explained
When is the Champions League draw?
The Champions League draw for the league phase will take place on Thursday August 29th in Monaco. It is scheduled for 5pm BST. For the first time, automated software will be used to draw each team’s opponents.
How will the new Champions League draw work?
The 36 teams are seeded into four pots, with nine teams in each pot. Each team is then manually drawn with a physical ball on stage. When each team is drawn, the automated software will randomly designate eight opponents from across the four pots, alongside determining which fixtures are played home and away.
Every team will be drawn against two teams from each pot, playing one at home and one away. Teams cannot play opponents from the same nation in the league phase and can only play two teams from the same nation. All fixtures will be finalised on August 31.
🆕 League phase line-up!#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/yFs5uipkfQ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 28, 2024
What is the new Champions League format?
For 2024/25, the Champions League has expanded from 32 teams to 36. In replacement of the previous four-team eight-group format, teams will now play eight fixtures (four home and four away) in the league phase and all results will be placed on a singular league table.
The top eight teams in the final table will advance to the last-16. Teams who finish between ninth and 24th will enter a play-off round, where the victors will progress to the last-16. There is no consolation prize of dropping into the Europa League for sides eliminated, with teams who finish 25th and below out of Europe entirely.
What are the pots for the Champions League draw?
Pot One: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona.
Pot Two: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan.
Pot Three: Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Lille, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys.
Pot Four: AS Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest, Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Prague.
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