The Champions League is back. But this time, it’s different.
Looking rather more like the European Super League that we all thought had been binned, the 2024-25 Champions League group stage will follow a new format.
Much has stayed the same, though. Four Premier League teams will still compete in Europe’s biggest and best competition, and the prize on offer is still the ‘old big ears’ trophy, as well as a whole lot of kudos.
Here, we have a (quick) go at explaining the new format, and use the Opta Power Rankings to work out both the most favourable draw and the nightmare scenario for Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
The Champions League is back. But this time, it’s different.
Looking rather more like the European Super League that we all thought had been binned, the 2024-25 Champions League group stage will follow a new format.
Much has stayed the same, though. Four Premier League teams will still compete in Europe’s biggest and best competition, and the prize on offer is still the ‘old big ears’ trophy, as well as a whole lot of kudos.
Here, we have a (quick) go at explaining the new format, and use the Opta Power Rankings to work out both the most favourable draw and the nightmare scenario for Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Champions League 2024-25 Group Stage Draw Pots
Pot 1: Real Madrid (Spa), Manchester City (Eng), Bayern Munich (Ger), Paris Saint-Germain (Fra), Liverpool (Eng), Inter Milan (Ita), Borussia Dortmund (Ger), RB Leipzig (Ger), Barcelona (Spa)
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Atlético Madrid (Spa), Atalanta (Ita), Juventus (Ita), Benfica (Por), Arsenal (Eng), Club Brugge (Bel), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr), AC Milan (Ita)
Pot 3: Feyenoord (Ned), Sporting CP (Por), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Dinamo Zagreb (Cro), Salzburg (Aus), Lille (Fra), Red Star Belgrade (Ser), Young Boys (Sui), Celtic (Sco)
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava (Ska), Monaco (Fra), Sparta Prague (Cze), Aston Villa (Eng), Bologna (Ita), Girona (Spa), Stuttgart (Ger), Sturm Graz (Aus), Brest (Fra)
Every team – no matter their pot – will be drawn against two teams from each pot. The idea is that this system produces more games between teams of equal ability (more Pot 1 teams facing Pot 1 teams etc.).