UEFA Champions League 2024-25: Schedule, title favourites, players to watch | Football News

The new-look UEFA Champions League is back for its 2024-25 season.

For the first time in its history, 36 teams will participate in Europe’s premier club competition in a format that has been given a shake-up in a bid to ensure the continent’s biggest teams face each other more often.

Here is everything you need to know about the revamped tournament:

⚽ What is the new Champions League format?

Up until the 2023-24 season, the Champions League featured 32 teams divided into eight groups of four and the top two teams advanced to the knockouts, beginning with the round of 16.

However, the 2024-25 season will see the competition expand to 36 teams, who will play in a newly-coined “league phase” instead of groups.

Every team will play eight games against eight different opponents in a home-and-away system in the new format.

The top eight teams will advance directly into the round of 16.

Sides finishing from ninth to 24th will enter the playoff round, which will be contested in eight knockout-style matches. The eight winners will complete the lineup for the round of 16, which will lead to the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.

The number of matches under the new format will increase from 125 to 189.

UEFA, the governing body of European football, has said the new format allows “clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents” and increases the prospect for fans to see “the top teams go head-to-head more often and earlier in the competition”.

⚽ What happened in the Champions League draw?

The draw for the league stage took place on August 29, throwing up a series of heavyweight fixtures, including a trip to Liverpool for holders Real Madrid, and a repeat of last season’s final between the Spanish giants and Borussia Dortmund.

Madrid, who won the UEFA Super Cup last month after beating last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta, will also play AC Milan at home and face Atalanta in an away game.

We meet again ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/wuKopXwevg

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) August 29, 2024

Liverpool, who are back in the Champions League after one season, will also meet Milan and take on tournament debutants Girona. Their fans will perhaps be most excited about the prospect of hosting German champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, winners of the competition in 2023, will host Italian champions Inter Milan and travel to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. The English champions were also handed ties against Club Brugge, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava, who have never played in the modern Champions League proper.

Aston Villa are handed plum ties at home to Bayern and Juventus as they enter the modern Champions League for the first time. Scottish side Celtic’s trip to Villa Park will set up an exciting British derby, while Celtic will also make trips to Dortmund and Atalanta.

⚽ Which clubs are new to the Champions League?

Among them are French club Brest, who have never played in any European competition before. They are handed games against Madrid and Barcelona.

Girona’s foray into the competition will see them host Liverpool and Arsenal, and go to PSG and AC Milan.

Our opponents for the Champions League! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uzE4Ijs7Rq

— Girona FC (@GironaFC_Engl) August 29, 2024

⚽ When are the league-phase matches?

The Champions League group stage will run from September to January – extending it beyond Christmas for the first time.

Which Champions League ties are scheduled for match day 1?

Tuesday, September 17

• Juventus vs PSV (16:45 GMT)
• Young Boys vs Aston Villa (16:45 GMT)
• Bayern Munich vs GNK Dinamo (19:00 GMT)
• Milan vs Liverpool (19:00 GMT)
• Real Madrid vs Stuttgart (19:00 GMT)
• Sporting CP vs Lille (19:00 GMT)

Wednesday, September 18

• Bologna vs Shakhtar (16:45 GMT)
• Sparta Prague vs Salzburg (16:45 GMT)
• Club Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund (19:00 GMT)
• Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava (19:00 GMT)
• Man City vs Inter (19:00 GMT)
• PSG vs Girona (19:00 GMT)

Thursday, September 19

• Crvena Zvezda vs Benfica (16:45 GMT)
• Feyenoord vs Leverkusen (16:45 GMT)
• Atalanta vs Arsenal (19:00 GMT)
• Atletico Madrid vs Leipzig (19:00 GMT)
• Monaco vs Barcelona (19:00 GMT)
• Brest vs Sturm Graz (19:00 GMT)

⚽ Which are the key Champions League matches to watch out for?

• October 1: Arsenal vs PSG (19:00 GMT)
• October 22: Real Madrid vs Dortmund (19:00 GMT)
• October 23: Barcelona vs Bayern Munich (19:00 GMT)
• November 5: Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen (19:00 GMT)
• November 5: Real Madrid vs Milan (19:00 GMT)
• November 6: Inter vs Arsenal (19:00 GMT)
• November 26: Bayern Munich vs PSG (19:00 GMT)
• November 27: Liverpool vs Real Madrid (19:00 GMT)
• December 11: Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona (19:00 GMT)
• December 11: Juventus vs Man City (19:00 GMT)
• January 22: PSG vs Man City (19:00 GMT)

⚽ When does the Champions League knockout stage begin?

• Knockout round playoff: February 11-12 and 18-19, 2025
• Round of 16: March 4-5 and 11-12, 2025
• Quarterfinals: April 8-9 and 15-16, 2025
• Semifinals: April 29-30 and May 6-7, 2025
• Final: May 31, 2025

⚽ Where will the Champions League final be held?

The 67,000-capacity Munich Football Arena, home of German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, will host the final.

⚽ Who are the favourites to win the 2024-25 Champions League?

Having won six Champions League titles since 2014, Real Madrid are strong favourites to win the tournament yet again.

With a star-studded squad featuring newly-signed French striker Kylian Mbappe, England’s Jude Bellingham, ever-reliable Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr and veteran midfielder Toni Kroos, manager Carlo Ancelotti has the perfect mix of talent, youth and experience.

Manchester City are among the contenders, too, and the reigning Premier League champions would be eager to lift the trophy for a second time under Pep Guardiola, who could depart the club at the end of the season.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona will also have their eyes on the silverware.

⚽ Who are the players to watch in the 2024-25 Champions League?

• Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
• Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
• Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
• Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
• Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

⚽ What’s the Champions League prize money?

The financial rewards in the Champions League are greater than before with the total pot rising by about 25 percent to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.79bn). The winners can pocket more than 86 million euros ($95.6m) in prize money.

Throughout the new Champions League season, you can keep up to date on all the latest football news, as well as live text commentary of select matches, via the Al Jazeera Sport football page.