Thanks to our superb performance in the Premier League, we will enter the Champions League for the 20th time in our history this season.
It is set to be a very different competition to the one we have been used to over the past couple of decades, with a new format and an expansion to 36 teams that needs getting to grips with, and a mixture of eight opponents that we have history with and are fresh faces.
Find out how it all works:
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How does the new format work?
To admit more clubs into the competition, UEFA have scrapped the traditional eight groups of four approach that supporters have become accustomed to.
There will now be a 36-team league phase, where all teams will compete against each other in a single table. Clubs will play eight matches in the new league phase, against eight different teams, split evenly between home and away games.
How will teams reach the knockout stages?
The results of each match will decide the overall ranking in the new league, with the usual three points for a win and one for a draw awarded.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while those that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated. No teams from this season's Champions League will drop into the Europa League at any point.
At the end of the league phase, teams who finish on the same number of points will be separated by goal difference and goals scored. If another tiebreaker is needed, then the total points gained by the tied clubs' eight opponents are added up, effectively creating a difficulty level that will determine who had the toughest path.
The teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the Champions League. Those who finish between 9th and 16th will be seeded, and face one of the teams who finished 17th to 24th, with the second leg at the seeded team’s ground.
The eight play-off winners will then face one of the seeded top-eight finishers in the round of 16, when the competition returns to its traditional two-legged knockout method, albeit with a set bracket, meaning clubs will be able to plot our their potential paths to the final.
When will the games take place?
As usual, the competition will begin in September and run throughout the autumn and winter, but given there are two extra games to fit in, the league stage won't be completed until the end of January 2025.
From that point onwards, knockout games will be staged every month, right up until the end of May when the final will be held at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Matchday 1: September 17–19, 2024
Matchday 2: October 1/2, 2024
Matchday 3: October 22/23, 2024
Matchday 4: November 5/6, 2024
Matchday 5: November 26/27, 2024
Matchday 6: December 10/11, 2024
Matchday 7: January 21/22, 2025
Matchday 8: January 29 2025
Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 & 18/19, 2025
Round of 16: March 4/5 & 11/12, 2025
Quarter-finals: April 8/9 & 15/16, 2025
Semi-finals: April 29/30 & May 6/7, 2025
Final: May 31, 2025
Who are the contenders?
After the final round of qualifying concluded, the 36 teams who will be competing in the league stage are now known:
Qualification through the league
England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid
Germany: Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Atalanta
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
Austria: Sturm Graz
Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
UEFA bonus spots
Bologna (ITA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Qualifying rounds
Young Boys (SUI)
Sparta Prague (CZE)
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Slovan Bratislava (SLK)
Red Star Belgrade (SER)
Lille (FRA)
Currently, six teams will make their Champions League bow - Aston Villa, Bologna, Slovan Bratislava, Brest and Girona - while the latter two will taste European competition for the first time in their history.
Who ARE WE PLAYING?
The draw for this season’s Champions League league phase has handed us matches against Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Atalanta, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco and Girona.
We’ll be hosting PSG, Shakhtar, Zagreb and Monaco at Emirates Stadium, while trips to Milan, Atalanta, Lisbon and Girona will be in our near future.
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