With qualification complete and the pots set, the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League season is upon us, but it will begin on a very different note than in years past. Thursday’s draw unofficially kicks off a season full of intrigue and uncertainty, and not only because of the perennial question of which team will lift Europe’s top club prize in the spring. UEFA will introduce a new format this season, switching to a Swiss-system tournament that will take center stage at this year’s draw. The Champions League is swapping out the group stage for the league phase, adding four more teams and two more games to the schedule in the process. As a result, this year’s draw will not only map out each team’s path to the Champions League final in Munich but also offer a first glimpse at how the new-look competition will work.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch
Introducing the new format
The new-look Champions League will begin with the league phase, which starts on familiar terrain by placing teams in four pots based on their UEFA club coefficients. (The lone exception are reigning champions Real Madrid, who were automatically placed into Pot 1 after winning a record 15th Champions League title in June, but would have likely earned that placement anyway.)
Each team will be drawn against eight different opponents, two from each pot, and will play four of those games at home and four away. This marks the first time teams in the Champions League will face teams from their own pot, a change intended to increase the competitiveness and entertainment value of the competition in its earlier stages. Teams will be ranked in a league table during the league phase, with the top 24 advancing to the knockout stages.
The knockout stages of the Champions League will also have a different look this season. The top eight teams after the league phase will advance straight to the round of 16, while teams ranked nine through 24 will square off against each other in the knockout round playoffs for a chance to play in the round of 16. The tournament plays out in a familiar format from there as teams compete to play in the May 31 final at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
League phase pots
- Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan
- Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Red Bull Salzburg, Young Boys, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Lille, Crvena Zvezda
- Pot 4: Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest, Slovan Bratislava
League phase matchdays
- Game 1: Sept. 17-19
- Game 2: Oct. 1-2
- Game 3: Oct. 22-23
- Game 4: Nov. 5-6
- Game 5: Nov. 26-27
- Game 6: Dec. 10-11
- Game 7: Jan. 21-22 (2025)
- Game 8: Jan. 29 (2025)
