EXPLAINER: How new UCL format works. Who plays who?

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (UCL) draw was held on Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The new format of the UCL was finally unveiled to the world, with teams paired against their opponents using a digitally conducted draw. 

Like every other prestigious football tournament, the UCL has also undergone a historical evolution in format. The biggest European club tournament has been given a structural revamp that will last from this season to the foreseeable future.

Gone is the traditional structure of teams drawn in groups of four, where the top two teams in each group qualify for the next round. The number of participants increased from 32 teams to 36 competitors. A league format has been introduced for the preliminary stage of the competition.

Here are some of the key things to note about the new UCL format:

NO GROUP STAGE, ONE LEAGUE TABLE

The group stage is gone, replaced by a single league table.

All 36 participating clubs will play eight matches and four home and away games, bringing the overall number of games from 96 to 114.

At the draw, teams were ranked in four seeding pots, and each side was drawn to play two opponents from each pot.

The draw ensures clubs play one match against a team from each pot at home and another one away.

All teams will be ranked in a single league table, with results from their respective eight matches determining their positions.

HOW TEAMS QUALIFY FOR KNOCKOUT ROUNDS

The top eight teams from the league format automatically qualify for the round of 16 stage.

Also, teams placed 9th to 24th will face each other in a playoff format to determine which of the other eight teams will advance to the knockout stage.

Teams ranked from 9th to 14th will be seeded. They have the advantage of hosting the second leg at home against teams that finish between 15th and 24th on the table.

The clubs outside the top 24 will be eliminated from the competition.

TOTAL ELIMINATION, NO EUROPA LEAGUE PLACE FOR UCL TEAMS

The new format nullifies the rule that the third-best team from each group must drop to the Europa League.

From this season onward, the bottom 12 in the UCL league phase and losers in the playoff are outrightly eliminated from Europe.

WHO WILL SOME OF THE HEAVYWEIGHTS PLAY

Manchester City: Inter (H), PSG (A), Club Brugge (H), Juventus (A), Feyenoord (H), Sporting CP (A), Sparta Prague (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).

Liverpool: Real Madrid (H), Leipzig (A), Leverkusen (H), Milan (A), Lille (H), PSV Eindhoven (A), Bologna (H), Girona (A).

Bayern Munich: PSG (H), Barcelona (A), Benfica (H), Shakhtar (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Feyenoord (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Aston Villa (A).

Real Madrid: Dortmund (H), Liverpool (A), Milan (H), Atalanta (A), Salzburg (H), Lille (A), Stuttgart (H), Brest (A).

Paris Saint-Germain: Man City (H), Bayern (A), Atlético (H), Arsenal (A), PSV (H), Salzburg (A), Girona (H), Stuttgart (A).

Barcelona: Bayern (H), Dortmund (A), Atalanta (H), Benfica (A), Young Boys (H), Red Star (A), Brest (H), Monaco (A).

Inter: Leipzig (H), Arsenal (H), Leverkusen (A), Red Star (H), Young Boys (A), Monaco (H), Sparta Prague (A).

Dortmund: Barcelona (H), Real Madrid (A), Shakhtar (H), Brugge (A), Celtic (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Sturm Graz (H), Bologna (A).

Arsenal: PSG (H), Inter (A), Shakhtar (H), Atalanta (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Sporting (A), Monaco (H), Girona (A).

Aston Villa: Bayern (H), Leipzig (A), Juventus (H), Brugge (A), Celtic (H), Young Boys (A), Bologna (H), Monaco (A).

AC Milan: Liverpool (H), Real Madrid (A), Club Brugge (H), Bayer Leverkusen (A), Red Star Belgrade (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Girona (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).

Atlético Madrid: Leipzig (H), PSG (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), Benfica (A), Lille (H), RB Salzburg (A), Slovan Bratislava (H) and Sparta Prague (A).

STATUS QUO REMAINS IN THE KNOCKOUT PHASE

All matches from the round of 16 to the semi-finals retain the two-legged format, with the winners advancing to the next stage.

However, the round of 16 does not start until February, with the league phase extending until January. This is unlike the old format, in which the group stage ends in December.

WHEN WILL NEW UCL START?

The dates and order of the matches have not yet been fixed despite the teams knowing all of their opponents. The fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be elaborated afterwards and announced on Saturday to ensure no calendar clashes with teams in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League playing in the same cities.