By Duncan Hughes

Arguably the most prestigious trophy in club football, the Champions League is back with a bang once again this year. Real Madrid are looking to defend their title after defeating Borussia Dortmund at Wembley back in June. However, as announced last year, a new format is in play this season making the competition even more interesting than usual!

What is the new format?

The new format is expected to provide new action, new drama and perhaps a chance for other teams to compete at the pinnacle of European Football. The previous format saw 32 teams divided between eight groups with 4 teams in each. However, the new format introduced for the 2024/25 season sees the introduction of 36 teams.

We will see the traditional group stage scrapped as we know it, as teams will play eight games against eight different teams (4 home games, 4 away games) instead of the usual 6 games against 3 opponents. To decide fixtures, there will be four pots with two teams from each pot being allocated against a side.

For example, holders Real Madrid will play two teams from each of the four pots, with four of these games being played at home and the other four away from home.

Teams will also no longer be in individual leagues, but instead one entire league of 36 teams allowing fans the opportunity to view more games, a wider variety of competition and see the top teams contest each other before the knockout stages.

How will teams advance from the league?

As usual, teams will be ranked in the league based on their matches against one another with 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. The top eight sides will automatically advance to the round of 16.

Sides who place from 9th through to 24th will be placed into a new knockout phase play-off with the winners of the play-off, across 2 legs, advancing to the round of 16. The teams ranked 25th or below in the league, will be eliminated from Europe altogether. 

From the round of 16 onwards, there will be no difference from previous years with the final set to take place at Munich’s Allianz Arena on the 31st May 2025. The winner of the competition will play no more than 17 games in total.

The same format will be introduced into the Europa League and the Europa Conference League as 36 teams will also enter each competition to battle it out for the iconic trophies. 

With no margin for error in either competition, teams will have to be on their ‘A-game’ throughout to avoid having to play extra games or elimination from the tournament.

Where will the four new teams come from?

With 4 new sides introduced into the new Champions League format, questions have been raised over how teams qualify for this year’s tournament.

The first of the four new places will be decided based on the league that is fifth in the coefficient rankings. The league that is ranked fifth in UEFA’s coefficient ranking will receive an extra place meaning three teams qualify from this league rather than just two. This year the league ranked fifth was Ligue 1, therefore, Brest have received a place in the Champions League for the 2024/25 season.

The second slot will be decided based on a domestic champion. Previously, four domestic champions would qualify for the Champions League through the Champions path qualifying process, however, this has now increased to five with the qualifying process consisting of four rounds.

The third and fourth slots will be decided based on how well the league associations have done in the previous season, centred around UEFA’s association club coefficient. The two associations with the best coefficients will be given two extra automatic places with this year’s being awarded to the Bundesliga and Serie A. This allows Borussia Dortmund and Bologna a place in the Champions League 2024/25, as they were both the next best ranked team in their respective leagues outside of the usual qualification places.

With the draw taking place this week, who will the defending champions, Real Madrid, come up against? Can they win consecutive titles or will another of Europe’s elites reign supreme in Munich? 

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