New format explained, current standings & TV info

In case you haven’t heard, UEFA has made massive changes to the Champions League. They have seen 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

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 draw procedure & pots

With more teams and a brand-new league phase, changes have had to be made to the draw procedure as well. Supporters who put themselves through the tenuous group stage draw ceremony every year may have been delighted by the news that the fixtures will be determined by a computer from now on, removing the need for a lengthy match-making process.

UEFA confirmed that due to the complexities of the new format, it would take too long to draw the fixtures manually. This saw fewer balls being unscrewed and more fixtures being allocated at the push of a button. But how does the draw actually work?

Teams were 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.

How to watch the Champions League on UK TV

This year, live coverage will be shown on TNT Sports and Amazon, with the latter securing a TV deal in 2022 handing them the rights to 17 live matches on Tuesday nights during the season, of which they have first pick.

BBC Sport will also be airing a midweek edition of Match of the Day throughout the campaign. The first episode was hosted by Jason Mohammad alongside pundits Joe Hart, Julien Laurens and Stephen Warnock.

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.

Champions League current league phase standings

This is the current shape of the new-look league table – which, as explained earlier, consists of all 36 clubs vying for 8 automatic last-16 berths, with spots available in the play-off round for those who finish between 9th and 24th.

Following their opening night exploits, the initial pace-setters are Bayern Munich and Celtic, while Aston Villa’s first top-tier European tie in over 40 years sees them make an ideal start.

Villa host Bayern in the next round of matches on 1st & 2nd October, while Celtic visit Borussia Dortmund looking to build on their thumping win in the first game. Arsenal v PSG is another highlight of Matchday 2.

Last updated: 19th September 2024, 2pm