Source: BBC Sport
The official website of the Kataeb Party leader
Security & Justice
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Thursday 29 August 2024 13:20:07
How Does Champions League Draw Work?
The new-look Champions League draw will be held on Thursday from 17:00 BST and you can watch it live on the BBC Sport website.
Teams will discover which eight clubs they will meet (four at home and four away) - but no actual groups will be drawn.
All the teams will be in one 36-team league phase, as compared to the past format of eight four-team groups.
So how will the draw work?
Teams will be placed in four pots according to their seeding. Each team face two teams from each pot, one at home and one away.
A team will be drawn out of a pot and then Uefa's software will decide their eight opponents - and whether they will be at home or away.
It means more matches between the biggest teams. For example, Manchester City could face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
The software stops teams playing rivals from their own country - and means each team can only play two clubs from any one country.
Uefa says the computer system plans ahead so will ensure no teams further down the line get drawn against teams they cannot face.
How to watch Champions League on BBC
You can watch the Champions League draw live along with analysis on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website between 17:00 BST and 18:25 on Thursday.
For the next three years, from 22:00 on the Wednesday of Champions League matchweeks, there will be match-by-match highlights available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.
There will be a highlights show on BBC One on the Wednesday, running from 22:40 to 00:00.
There will also be clips online and on social media, as well as live text commentary and radio coverage for all matchweeks on the BBC Sport website.
How does the new Champions League format work?
Teams who finish in the top eight will qualify automatically for the last 16, while those who place ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them.
Whoever finishes 25th or lower will be eliminated and will not be entered into the Europa League.
From the last 16 onwards, the Champions League will continue to follow its existing format with the final taking place at a neutral venue - Munich this year.
The number of matches in the new format will increase from 125 to 189.
Each team will play a minimum of eight - instead of six - and a maximum of 17.
The league phase will now run until the end of January instead of ending before Christmas.
Who is in the Champions League draw?
Pot 1: Real Madrid (Spa), Man City (Eng), Bayern Munich (Ger), Paris St-Germain (Fra), Liverpool (Eng), Inter Milan (Ita), Dortmund (Ger), Leipzig (Ger), Barcelona (Spa)
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Atletico Madrid (Spa), Atalanta (Ita), Juventus (Ita), Benfica (Por), Arsenal (Eng), Club Brugge (Bel), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr), AC Milan (Ita)
Pot 3: Feyenoord (Ned), Sporting Lisbon (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)
Champions League key fixture dates
Champions League group phase
Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024
Matchday 2: 1-2 October 2024
Matchday 3: 22-23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5-6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26-27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10-11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21-22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Champions League knockout stage
Knockout round play-offs: 11-12 and 18-19 February 2025
Round of 16: 4-5 and 11-12 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 8-9 and 15-16 April 2025
Semi-finals: 29-30 April and 6-7 May 2025
Final: 31 May 2025, Munich