In case you haven’t heard, UEFA are making massive changes to the Champions League next season. It sees the end of the group stage as we know it, as well as the introduction of four extra teams to the league phase that replaces it.
It is the biggest shake-up to the format of the competition since the discontinuation of the second group stage, which was last used in 2002/03. Therefore, it may be overdue a change – not that there was anything necessarily wrong with the outgoing format.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa are all involved as 36 teams do battle in the new-look final tournament. It means more games, more different opponents, and UEFA hopes there will be more drama to go along with it. But will it live up to the billing?
Here is Football FanCast’s rundown of how it’ll work and what you can expect to change when the new format comes into effect.
How the 2024/25 Champions League will work
The biggest change is that UEFA is dropping the group stage. Instead of eight groups of four teams, there will be a single league of 36 teams, with each team playing eight times against eight different opponents – two teams from each of the four pots – with four at home and four away.
The eight teams who finish with the most points will qualify for the round of 16. Those placed from 9th-24th will enter a two-legged play-off round to determine the other eight teams. The 12 bottom clubs will all be eliminated – with no more dropping down in the Europa League.
Incidentally, both the Europa League and Conference League will undergo similar changes, with clubs no longer able to play in different competitions during the same campaign.
Once the round of 16 starts, the format reverts to normal – two-legged ties until the final, with no use of away goals throughout.
Looking at the schedule in the table below, the key differences are the two league phase matchdays in the new year, with the 36 qualified teams guaranteed to be playing European football until late January – while the last of these is a single date rather than split over Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
This is presumably to ensure maximum carnage as teams scrap for the eight automatic knockout-round slots, with similar likely as sides look to avoid instant elimination.
2024/25 Champions League key dates
Qualifying stage
First qualifying round
9-10 & 16-17 July
Second qualifying round
23-24 & 30-31 July
Third qualifying round
6-7 & 13 August
Play-offs
20-21 & 27-28 August
League stage
Matchday 1
17-19 September
Matchday 2
1-2 October
Matchday 3
22-23 October
Matchday 4
5-6 November
Matchday 5
26-27 November
Matchday 6
10-11 December
Matchday 7
21-22 January
Matchday 8
28 January
Knockout stage
Knockout round play-offs
11-12 & 18-19 February
Round of 16
4-5 & 11-12 March
Quarter-finals
8-9 & 15-16 April
Semi-finals
29-30 April & 6-7 May
Final
31 May
All dates subject to change
How to qualify for the Champions League
With the league phase involving 36 teams, there are four more places up for grabs for the final tournament.
The qualification process is largely untouched, with the reigning champions and Europa League winners still getting places if they haven’t already qualified, but four extra paths needed to be created.
One extra place now goes to the fifth-ranked nation in UEFA’s coefficient standings, which is France, meaning four Ligue 1 clubs can enter the competition through the league. There’s also an extra place up for grabs in the ‘Champions Path’ qualifying rounds for nations ranked 11th through 55th.
The other two places are awarded to the countries that collectively achieve the best results in the previous season’s competition, which is determined by adding up coefficient points and dividing them by the number of participating teams from that country.
This year, Italy and Germany grabbed those places – known as European Performance Spots – with Bologna and last season’s finalists, Borussia Dortmund, the fortunate recipients.
2024/25 Champions League qualified teams
29 clubs qualified for the league phase upon the completion of the 2023/24 league season. Two clubs – Shakhtar Donetsk and Benfica – qualified due to the winners of the Champions League and Europa League (Real Madrid and Atalanta respectively) already qualifying through their league position. This leaves seven more slots to be filled via the play-off rounds.
2024/25 Champions League: Qualified teams
Club
Nation
Route
Man City
England
1st in Premier League
Arsenal
England
2nd in Premier League
Liverpool
England
3rd in Premier League
Aston Villa
England
4th in Premier League
Real Madrid
Spain
1st in La Liga
Barcelona
Spain
2nd in La Liga
Girona
Spain
3rd in La Liga
Atletico Madrid
Spain
4th in La Liga
Bayer Leverkusen
Germany
1st in Bundesliga
Stuttgart
Germany
2nd in Bundesliga
Bayern Munich
Germany
3rd in Bundesliga
RB Leipzig
Germany
4th in Bundesliga
Inter
Italy
1st in Serie A
Milan
Italy
2nd in Serie A
Juventus
Italy
3rd in Serie A
Atalanta
Italy
4th in Serie A
PSG
France
1st in Ligue 1
Monaco
France
2nd in Ligue 1
Stade Brest
France
3rd in Ligue 1
PSV
Netherlands
1st in Eredivisie
Feyenoord
Netherlands
2nd in Eredivisie
Sporting CP
Portugal
1st in Primeira Liga
Club Brugge
Belgium
1st in Pro League
Celtic
Scotland
1st in Premiership
Sturm Graz
Austria
1st in Bundesliga
Bologna
Italy
European Performance Spot
Borussia Dortmund
Germany
European Performance Spot
Shakhtar Donetsk
Ukraine
UEFA club coefficient
Benfica
Portugal
UEFA club coefficient
2024/25 Champions League draw procedure & projected pots
With more teams and a brand-new league phase, changes will have to be made to the draw procedure as well. Supporters who put themselves through the tenuous group stage draw ceremony every year may be delighted by the news that the fixtures will be determined by a computer, removing the need for a lengthy match-making process.
UEFA has confirmed that due to the complexities of the new format, it would take too long to draw the fixtures manually. This means we will see fewer balls being unscrewed and more fixtures being allocated at the push of a few buttons. But how will the draw actually work, and who can play who?
Teams will be allocated into four pots as usual – with nine slots now available in each one. Teams will be drawn randomly from Pot 1, at which point the computer will determine their opponents. Every team will face two opponents from each pot, regardless of which one they are in. The computer will also determine which games are played home and away.
As in previous years, there is national protection during the league phase, though teams from the same association will be able to face each other from the last 16 onwards – a round earlier than usual.
Another alteration to the draw schedule sees a draw from the last-16 stage determining the remaining teams’ path to the final, meaning there is no need for another draw come the quarter-finals.
Below is how the pots are shaping up ahead of the play-off round second-leg ties – these could change ahead of Thursday’s draw. Galatasaray are trailing heading into their second-leg decider against Young Boys, with data boffins at Football Rankings projecting the Turkish side as favourites to assume a place in Pot 3 if they overturn their 3-2 deficit.
Elsewhere, all non-qualified sides below listed here bar Bodo/Glimt and FC Midtjylland boast at least two-goal leads ahead of the midweek ties, with the Norwegian side holding a slender 2-1 advantage against 1991 champions Red Star Belgrade.
Danish outfit Midtjylland need to win away from home to progress after a first-leg 1-1 draw against Slovan Bratislava, who are aiming to make the main tournament for the first time since the 1992/93 season.
2024/25 Champions League projected pots
Pot 1
Pot 2
Pot 3
Pot 4
Man City
Bayer Leverkusen
Feyenoord
FC Midtjylland
Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid
Sporting CP
Monaco
Real Madrid
Atalanta
PSV
Sparta Prague
PSG
Juventus
Dinamo Zagreb
Aston Villa
Liverpool
Benfica
RB Salzburg
Bologna
Inter
Arsenal
Lille
Girona
Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge
Celtic
Stuttgart
RB Leipzig
Shakhtar Donetsk
Galatasaray
Sturm Graz
Barcelona
Milan
Bodo/Glimt
Stade Brest
bold = qualified for Champions League; pots may change
Champions League draw dates
These are the remaining dates for your diary if you don’t want to miss a thing. As mentioned, there are only two draws following the completion of the league phase; one for the knockout play-off round, and another for the rest of the knockout stages. Positions in the league are set to determine a team’s path to the final, which will be mapped out in full at the last-16 stage instead of the quarter-finals as in previous years.
2024/25 Champions League draw dates
Round
Draw date
League phase
29th August
Knockout round play-offs
31st January
Round of 16/QF/SF
21st February
