Inter Milan & Juventus Could Already Meet In Group Stage Of Revamped Champions League

Inter Milan could face off with Juventus in the Champions League group stage under next season’s revamped format.

This according to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.

UEFA have changed the format for the Champions League starting next season.

Rather than 32 teams participating, there will be 36.

And this will entail a change to the format of the group stage.

Rather than eight groups of four – seeing each team involved playing six group stage matches in total – there will be four groups of nine as part of an initial “league phase.”

This will mean that each team in the Champions League plays eight group stage matches in total.

And the math is fairly simple in this regard.

UEFA will still aim to keep teams from the same domestic league from facing each other in the group stage. That has always been part of the format.

With four groups in total, that will be possible in the event that leagues have four representatives in the competition. One team per group.

However, in the event that there are more than four teams per league, then it will be mathematically necessary to have teams from the same domestic league in a single group.

Inter Could Meet Juventus In Revamped 2024-25 Champions League Group Stage

Next season, Serie A will have five representatives in the group stage of the Champions League. This is the result of Atalanta winning the Europa League last season.

Therefore, there will be a group that contains two teams from the Italian top flight.

And according to Tuttosport, the matchup could be a very high profile one.

The newspaper note that, based on the seeding, Inter and Juventus could face each other in a Champions League Derby d’Italia.

And this would not have to take place in the knockouts, as with the Milan derby semifinal in 2023.

Rather, the Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri could already meet in the group stage.