Champions League draw LIVE: Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learn fixtures ahead of new format

Last night the second leg of the play-offs took place, giving us the final four sides involved.

Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb thrashed Qarabag to book their spot, Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Bodo/Glimt, Lille from France just about snuck through despite losing the second leg to Slavia Prague and Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava scored twice in the final eight minutes to leave Midtjylland heartbroken.

League 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

Knockout stage

• Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025
• Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025
• Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025
• Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025
• Final: 31 May 2025

Aston Villa are a former European champion having lifted the European Cup in 1982 - but their return to the Champions League ends a run of 41 years without playing in European football’s premier competition.

Unai Emery’s side gate-crashed the top four last season in a brilliant campaign that included wins over Manchester City and the double over Arsenal.

The club also reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they were beaten by Olympiacos, while Emery has an excellent record in European competitions - winning the Europa League a record four times.

Like Newcastle last season, Villa’s return to the Champions League should create some special nights under the lights at Villa Park - however, Newcastle crashed out in the group stage and it rather derailed their season, so Villa will hope to find a better balance.

They also have a new format to contend with.

Let’s take Aston Villa, who are in pot 4, for an example.

Unai Emery’s side would draw two teams from each pot, including their own, to give them eight fixtures overall. One match from each pot would be home, the other away. And you can’t draw teams from your country.

Pot 1 - Real Madrid (h), RB Leipzig (a)

Pot 2 - Benfica (h), AC Milan (a)

Pot 3 - Feyenoord (h), Lille (a)

Pot 4 - Bologna (h), AS Monaco (a)

Among the changes to the draw, you will notice that the top national champions, eg from Spain, England, Italy, are no longer allocated into Pot 1. Bayer Leverkusen are in Pot 2, despite winning the Bundesliga.

That’s because the pots are now sorted by Uefa club coefficient, measured over the past five seasons. That’s why Aston Villa, having only returned to European competition last season, find themselves in Pot 4.

The pots themselves don’t matter as much now anyway, as teams will be drawn against two teams from each pot, inlcuding their own.

Every team in the draw will play two games against a team from Pot 1, for example, whether you are Real Madrid or Sturm Graz.

Pot 4

• Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
• Monaco (FRA)
• Sparta Praha (CZE)
• Aston Villa (ENG)
• Bologna (ITA)
• Girona (ESP)
• Stuttgart (GER)
• Sturm Graz (AUT)
• Brest (FRA)

Pot 3

• Feyenoord (NED)
• Sporting CP (POR)
• PSV Eindhoven (NED)
• GNK Dinamo (CRO)
• Salzburg (AUT)
• Lille (FRA)
• Crvena Zvezda (SRB)
• Young Boys (SUI)
• Celtic (SCO)

Pot 2

• Leverkusen (GER)
• Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
• Atalanta (ITA)
• Juventus (ITA)
• Benfica (POR)
• Arsenal (ENG)
• Club Brugge (BEL)
• Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
• AC Milan (ITA)

Pot 1

• Real Madrid (ESP)
• Manchester City (ENG)
• Bayern München (GER)
• Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
• Liverpool (ENG)
• Inter (ITA)
• Dortmund (GER)
• Leipzig (GER)
• Barcelona (ESP)

England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa

Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid

Germany: Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig, Dortmund

Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bologna, Juventus

France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest

Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord

Portugal: Sporting CP

Belgium: Club Brugge

Scotland: Celtic

Austria: Sturm Graz

Uefa Europa League winners: Atalanta

Champions League winner rebalancing: Shakhtar Donetsk

Europa League winner rebalancing: Benfica

Qualifiers: Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava, Red Star Belgrade, Sparta Prague, Lille, Red Bull Salzburg