Champions League draw LIVE: Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learn fixtures ahead of new format
The draw for the new-look, 36-team league phase was held at a special ceremony in Monte Carlo
A new era of the Champions League arrives as the draw is held for the inaugural 36-team format.
The old group stage is out, with a new-look league phase arriving to bring what Uefa hope will be a more exciting first stage of the competition. As usual, teams cannot face opponents from their country, but there are some blockbuster ties as for the first time clubs can face rivals from the same pot - meaning that Liverpool have been paired with Real Madrid while Manchester City will face two Italian giants, among others. Meanwhile, Aston Villa face Celtic in a classic battle of Britain.
Follow all the reaction from the Champions League draw in our live blog below:
Who were the last teams to qualify for the Champions League?
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.
When are Champions League matches played this season?
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’s European Cup return
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.
What a Champions League draw could look like
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)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
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.
Champions League: League phase draw pots
Pot 4
- Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
- Monaco (FRA)
- Sparta Praha (CZE)
- Aston Villa (ENG)
- Bologna (ITA)
- Girona (ESP)
- Stuttgart (GER)
- Sturm Graz (AUT)
- Brest (FRA)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
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)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
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)
Champions League: League phase draw pots
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)
Which teams have qualified?
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
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