Champions League 2024/25 league phase: Draw in full as Liverpool face Real Madrid, Aston Villa get Bayern Munich | OneFootball

A new chapter of the Champions League has begun with the completion of the inaugural league phase draw.

European football’s governing body (Uefa) initiated the most significant format change in 20 years to ensure a bright future at all levels and accommodate all parties’ changing needs.

They’ve argued that the new league format will involve more teams in each competition, allowing fans to see more top matches than those that occurred earlier. It will also create a more balanced competition among all teams, allowing each team to play opponents of similar skill levels throughout the league phase.

With this draw, the fruits of this labour and plenty of mouth-watering clashes are on the horizon. However, the finalised fixture list will be released on Saturday.

To bring you up to speed, instead of 32 teams being divided into eight groups of four, as in recent editions, this season’s competition will be the first with 36 teams, and they will all form a single league.

Each team will play four games at home and four away, making eight fixtures — two more than in the previous format. These eight matches will be against eight different opponents. This is known as the “Swiss Model,” most commonly used in chess.

If we break those clubs down, 16 countries are represented (Spain, England, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Ukraine, Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovakia).

Serie A and the Bundesliga each have five teams. Sparta Prague, Celtic, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk, Club Brugge, Crvena zvezda and Slovan Bratislava are their nations’ sole representatives.

Aston Villa, Bologna, Brest, and Girona will make their debut appearances since the introduction of the group stage. Brest and Girona will also make their debut appearances in European football. Villa are among 14 former European Cup holders, with 15-time winners Real Madrid as the defending champions.

Fate of the Premier League four

Manchester City, Liverpool, and Aston Villa will all play a side they’ve beaten in a previous European Cup final. Man City face Inter Milan, Liverpool meet AC Milan and Real Madrid, while Villa take on Bayern Munich. Arsenal and Man City entertain Paris Saint-Germain, while there will be an Anfield return for Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, plus a Battle of Britain showdown between Aston Villa and Celtic in the second city.

The landmark 2024/25 draw in full

Elsewhere, there will be clashes between Real Madrid and AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Celtic, RB Leipzig and Juventus.

When will the Champions League fixtures be played?

Due to two additional rounds of fixtures, the first phase of the Champions League will now continue into January. The added fixtures and resulting calendar pressure have removed FA Cup replays in England. Below are the matchdays for the league phase:

Real Madrid played 13 games on their way to last season’s triumph. A club could theoretically play 17 fixtures en route to the trophy if they feature in the play-off round.

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