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

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

For the primary time in its historical past, 36 groups will take part in Europe’s premier membership competitors in a format that has been given a shake-up in a bid to make sure the continent’s greatest groups face one another extra usually.

Right here is every part it is advisable to know concerning the revamped match:

⚽ What’s the new Champions League format?

Up till the 2023-24 season, the Champions League featured 32 groups divided into eight teams of 4 and the highest two groups superior to the knockouts, starting with the spherical of 16.

Nevertheless, the 2024-25 season will see the competitors develop to 36 groups, who will play in a newly-coined “league section” as an alternative of teams.

Each workforce will play eight video games in opposition to eight totally different opponents in a home-and-away system within the new format.

The highest eight groups will advance immediately into the spherical of 16.

Sides ending from ninth to twenty fourth will enter the playoff spherical, which will likely be contested in eight knockout-style matches. The eight winners will full the lineup for the spherical of 16, which can result in the quarterfinals, semifinals and the ultimate.

The variety of matches underneath the brand new format will improve from 125 to 189.

UEFA, the governing physique of European soccer, has stated the brand new format permits “golf equipment to check themselves in opposition to a wider vary of opponents” and will increase the prospect for followers to see “the highest groups go head-to-head extra usually and earlier within the competitors”.

⚽ What occurred within the Champions League draw?

The draw for the league stage passed off on August 29, throwing up a sequence of heavyweight fixtures, together with a visit to Liverpool for holders Actual Madrid, and a repeat of final season’s closing between the Spanish giants and Borussia Dortmund.

Madrid, who received the UEFA Tremendous Cup final month after beating final season’s Europa League winners Atalanta, can even play AC Milan at dwelling and face Atalanta in an away sport.

We meet once more ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/wuKopXwevg

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) August 29, 2024

Liverpool, who’re again within the Champions League after one season, can even meet Milan and tackle match debutants Girona. Their followers will maybe be most excited concerning the prospect of internet hosting German champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester Metropolis, winners of the competitors in 2023, will host Italian champions Inter Milan and journey to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. The English champions had been additionally handed ties in opposition to Membership Brugge, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava, who’ve by no means performed within the fashionable Champions League correct.

Aston Villa are handed plum ties at dwelling to Bayern and Juventus as they enter the fashionable Champions League for the primary time. Scottish facet Celtic’s journey to Villa Park will arrange an thrilling British derby, whereas Celtic can even make journeys to Dortmund and Atalanta.

⚽ Which golf equipment are new to the Champions League?

Amongst them are French membership Brest, who’ve by no means performed in any European competitors earlier than. They’re handed video games in opposition to Madrid and Barcelona.

Girona’s foray into the competitors 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 past Christmas for the primary time.

Which Champions League ties are scheduled for match day 1?

Tuesday, September 17

• Juventus vs PSV (16:45 GMT)
• Younger Boys vs Aston Villa (16:45 GMT)
• Bayern Munich vs GNK Dinamo (19:00 GMT)
• Milan vs Liverpool (19:00 GMT)
• Actual 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)
• Membership Brugge vs Borussia Dortmund (19:00 GMT)
• Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava (19:00 GMT)
• Man Metropolis 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)

⚽ That are the important thing Champions League matches to be careful for?

• October 1: Arsenal vs PSG (19:00 GMT)
• October 22: Actual 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: Actual 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 Actual Madrid (19:00 GMT)
• December 11: Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona (19:00 GMT)
• December 11: Juventus vs Man Metropolis (19:00 GMT)
• January 22: PSG vs Man Metropolis (19:00 GMT)

⚽ When does the Champions League knockout stage start?

• Knockout spherical playoff: February 11-12 and 18-19, 2025
• Spherical of 16: March 4-5 and 11-12, 2025
• Quarterfinals: April 8-9 and 15-16, 2025
• Semifinals: April 29-30 and Could 6-7, 2025
• Ultimate: Could 31, 2025

⚽ The place will the Champions League closing be held?

The 67,000-capacity Munich Soccer Area, dwelling of German Bundesliga membership Bayern Munich, will host the ultimate.

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

Having received six Champions League titles since 2014, Actual Madrid are robust favourites to win the match but once more.

With a star-studded squad that includes newly-signed French striker Kylian Mbappe, England’s Jude Bellingham, ever-reliable Brazilian ahead Vinicius Jr and veteran midfielder Toni Kroos, supervisor Carlo Ancelotti has the proper mixture of expertise, youth and expertise.

Manchester Metropolis are among the many contenders, too, and the reigning Premier League champions can be desperate to raise the trophy for a second time underneath Pep Guardiola, who may depart the membership on the finish of the season.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona can even have their eyes on the silverware.

⚽ Who’re the gamers to look at within the 2024-25 Champions League?

• Kylian Mbappe (Actual Madrid)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester Metropolis)
• 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 cash?

The monetary rewards within the Champions League are larger than earlier than with the whole pot rising by about 25 % to nearly 2.5 billion euros ($2.79bn). The winners can pocket greater than 86 million euros ($95.6m) in prize cash.

All through the brand new Champions League season, you’ll be able to preserve updated on all the most recent soccer information, in addition to reside textual content commentary of choose matches, by way of the Al Jazeera Sport soccer web page.