A new era of the Champions League arrives as the draw is held for the inaugural 36-team format.
The old group stage is out, with a new-look league phase arriving to bring what Uefa hope will be a more exciting first stage of the competition. The draw will be different as a result, with each of the teams handed eight fixtures to play, as opposed to being selected into groups. From England, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa qualified from the Premier League while Scottish champions Celtic are also in the hat.
As usual, teams cannot face opponents from their country, but there are set to be some blockbuster ties as for the first time clubs can face rivals from the same pot – meaning that the champions from the last two seasons, Real Madrid and Man City, could theoretically face each other. Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund at Wembley last season to become kings of Europe for a record-extending 15th time.
Follow all the updates from the Champions League draw in our live blog below, with the ceremony starting at 5pm BST
Draw for new-look Champions League takes place in Monte Carlo at 5pm
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Celtic await fixtures
Everything you need to know about the new Champions League format
15:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Aston Villa are a former European champion having lifted the European Cup in 1982 – but their return to the Champions League ends a run of 41 years without playing in European football’s premier competition.
Unai Emery’s side gate-crashed the top four last season in a brilliant campaign that included wins over Manchester City and the double over Arsenal.
The club also reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they were beaten by Olympiacos, while Emery has an excellent record in European competitions – winning the Europa League a record four times.
Like Newcastle last season, Villa’s return to the Champions League should create some special nights under the lights at Villa Park – however, Newcastle crashed out in the group stage and it rather derailed their season, so Villa will hope to find a better balance.
They also have a new format to contend with.
15:01 , Jamie Braidwood
Let’s take Aston Villa, who are in pot 4, for an example.
Unai Emery’s side would draw two teams from each pot, including their own, to give them eight fixtures overall. One match from each pot would be home, the other away. And you can’t draw teams from your country.
Pot 1 – Real Madrid (h), RB Leipzig (a)
Pot 2 – Benfica (h), AC Milan (a)
Pot 3 – Feyenoord (h), Lille (a)
Pot 4 – Bologna (h), AS Monaco (a)
14:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Among the changes to the draw, you will notice that the top national champions, eg from Spain, England, Italy, are no longer allocated into Pot 1. Bayer Leverkusen are in Pot 2, despite winning the Bundesliga.
That’s because the pots are now sorted by Uefa club coefficient, measured over the past five seasons. That’s why Aston Villa, having only returned to European competition last season, find themselves in Pot 4.
The pots themselves don’t matter as much now anyway, as teams will be drawn against two teams from each pot, inlcuding their own.
Every team in the draw will play two games against a team from Pot 1, for example, whether you are Real Madrid or Sturm Graz.
14:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 4
Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Monaco (FRA)
Sparta Praha (CZE)
Aston Villa (ENG)
Bologna (ITA)
Girona (ESP)
Stuttgart (GER)
Sturm Graz (AUT)
Brest (FRA)
14:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 3
Feyenoord (NED)
Sporting CP (POR)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
GNK Dinamo (CRO)
Salzburg (AUT)
Lille (FRA)
Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
Young Boys (SUI)
Celtic (SCO)
13:40 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 2
13:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Pot 1
13:06 , Jamie Braidwood
England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid
Germany: Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig, Dortmund
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bologna, Juventus
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
Austria: Sturm Graz
Uefa Europa League winners: Atalanta
Champions League winner rebalancing: Shakhtar Donetsk
Europa League winner rebalancing: Benfica
Qualifiers: Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Sparta Prague, Lille, Red Bull Salzburg
12:40 , Jamie Braidwood
All eight matches will be played against different teams, with four at home and four away, and organised by seeding. All the results would contribute to the overall league ranking.
Teams will be seeded in four pots based on their individual club coefficient at the beginning of the season (the only exception being the Champions League titleholder always top seed in pot 1). Each team will then be drawn against two opponents from each pot, one of which will be at home and one away.
In the league phase teams cannot face opponents from their country and can be drawn against a maximum of two sides from the same country.
All 36 teams will be manually drawn using physical balls. For every team manually drawn, a designated automated software will randomly draw eight opponents across the four pots, who will be revealed on screen in the draw hall and on television. The software will also decide which matches will be at home and which ones away.
12:20 , Jamie Braidwood
Under the new format, teams will play eight matches against eight different teams, rather than three teams twice as was previously the case
Four extra clubs will be added to take the number up to 36, and a single league format will be used. The league phase will determine an overall ranking – from 1st to 36th, with three points for a win and one for a draw as usual.
The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, with the 16 teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering the play-off round over two legs, with a victory securing passage to the last 16. Teams who finish 25th or below will be eliminated and will not drop down to the Europa League.
12:00 , Jamie Braidwood
Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Knockout round play-offs draw: 31 January 2025
Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
Round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draws: 21 February 2025
11:39 , Jamie Braidwood
It says something about the new Champions League that, as executives were preparing for their trip to Nyon for Thursday’s draw, one of the most common statements was: “How does this actually work, then?” Many are still getting their heads around it. They won’t be alone. Uefa has had to flood out explainers for the expanded 36-team super-group stage.
It means that the draw will do more than just decide who plays who in a series of largely inconsequential group games.
It is the first step in a three-year period that is going to change our understanding of and interaction with football. This won’t be the last time that people approach one of the major competitions and wonder how it works. There’s also the World Cup, that is bloating to 48 teams and at once removing its own sense of a self-contained elite event. In between, there’s the expanded 32-team Club World Cup at the end of this season, if it even takes place.
It really is a new era, with changed theme music, too.
Preview by Miguel Delaney
The new Champions League format is flawed. So who is it really for?
11:36 , Jamie Braidwood
The Champions League has undergone perhaps the most significant revamp in the competition’s history with a new format in place for the 2024/25 season.
Europe’s premier club competition has abandoned the traditional group stage structure as it enters a 33rd season since rebranding.
Instead, progress to the knockout rounds will be determined by an expanded league stage featuring 36 teams and two more rounds of midweek fixtures.
The final of this year’s competition will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich next May as Real Madrid bid to defend a continental crown won for the 15th time earlier this year.
Here is everything you need to know about the new format and the 2024/25 Champions League.
Everything you need to know about the new Champions League format
11:34 , Jamie Braidwood
The draw will take place on Thursday 29 August from 5pm BST.
The draw will be streamed live online via the Champions League website and Uefa YouTube channel.
11:34 , Jamie Braidwood
The brand new Champions League begins with a format that Uefa hopes will revitalise Europe’s elite competition.
The old group stage faced criticism for being too predictable and the hope is that the new league phase will make for a more interesting dynamic.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa qualified for the Champions League from the Premier League, while Real Madrid will look to defend their crown as the reigning champions, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final.
When is the Champions League draw? Start time and how to stream online