This season’s Champions League group stage will feel very different from the format we have become accustomed to in the 19 previous seasons we’ve taken part.
With the competition expanding, the traditional eight groups of four teams aren’t fit for purpose, and so a new format has been created with a single league of all competing teams.
That also means that the draw is also going to look very different when it takes place in Monaco on Thursday, 29 August. Here is how it’s all going to work:
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What is the new format of the Champions League group stage?
To admit more clubs into the competition, UEFA have created a 36-team league phase, where all teams 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.
The top eight sides will qualify automatically for the round of 16. The teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16, while those that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated from all European competition
Find out much more about how the competition will work
What happens before the Champions League draw takes place?
Teams will be ranked in four seeding pots depending on their UEFA coefficient ranking, as has been the case for many years, with nine in each pot. Each team will face two opponents from each of the pots, playing one match from each pot at home, and one away.
In the league phase teams cannot face opponents from their country, and can be drawn against a maximum of two sides from another country.
how will the new Champions League draw work?
UEFA say that to use the same manual draw system we’re all used to, nearly 1,000 balls in over 36 bowls would be required, and take up to four hours due to the additional complexity. Therefore, they’re adopting a computerised approach to help speed things up.
Starting with Pot A, each team will be manually selected from a bowl, and then allocated eight fixtures by the computer, which will also state which will be at home and away. These will be shown on screen at the venue and on TV.
Then the teams in Pot B will have their remaining six fixtures allocated, and so on until each team has been assigned their eight opponents.
UEFA insists that their computer systems are robust and audited by a third party to ensure fairness.
When will the Champions League group stage fixtures be announced?
Even though the teams will know all their opponents by the end of the draw, the fixture list with match dates and kick-off times will be confirmed afterwards and announced on Saturday, August 31, to ensure there are no calendar clashes with teams in the other European competitions playing in the same cities.
Will there be a draw for the Champions League knockout stages?
There will be, but only minor ones. The teams that finish in the top eight of the league will be seeded in the round of 16, and face one of the play-off round winners. However, they’ll be ranked in terms of their finishing positions, and put into a bracket so each team can see their potential route to the final right from the outset of the knockout phase.
Therefore the only draws needed will be to determine which side of the bracket teams will be on - one at the end of the league phase at the end of January, and another at the end of February for the round of 16.
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