The all-new season of the UEFA Champions League is just around the corner. Now that the last round of qualifiers is all done and dusted, we finally know all 36 participants. 
Plus, the draw last Thursday announced all eight fixtures of the 36 participating teams. Mind you, we’ll get the exact group stage calendar at a later date.
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<h2 dir="ltr">Old Champions League Format is No More</h2>
That’s right, the 2024/25 Champions League season comes with four extra teams and a completely revamped group stage. The draw ended up confusing the fans, who now aren’t sure what to expect.
No worries, we’re here to shed light on the new Champions League format and guide you through the changes. You’ll be happy to know it’s not as complex as it might seem at first.
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The old format for the Champions League main event was pretty straightforward. It was divided into two stages: groups and playoffs. Before the group stage could be seeded, of course, there were several rounds of qualifiers. 
But, that’s not considered a part of the main event. It only consisted of two stages:
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Group stage
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8 groups (A through H) with 4 teams each
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Each teams plays the other three teams in their group twice
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One match home, one match away
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Top 2 teams from each group quality for the round of 16
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3rd place teams are relegated to the Europa League
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4th place teams are eliminated
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</ul>
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Playoffs
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Ro16 up to the semifinals are two-legged matches
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Winners advance to the next stage
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The grand final is a single-leg spectacle in some of football’s greatest venues
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</ul>
</ul>
The all-new CL format changes are set to completely revamp the group stage. We’ll explain in more detail right below!
<h2 dir="ltr">2024/25 Champions League Format Explained</h2>
If you watched the draw last Thursday, it might’ve left you puzzled. Yes, I know, it seemed pretty complicated. 
But, that’s just because of the new format UEFA used computers to automatically seed teams from 4 different pots. Allow us to elaborate:
<h3 dir="ltr">League Phase</h3>
The all-new League Phase is set to replace the old Group Stage with 8 groups of 4 teams. Now, it’s all just a single group; a league - hence the name League Phase. 
So, starting from 2024/25 season, 36 teams will participate in a single league. Each team will play 8 different teams, 4 home and 4 away, instead of 3 teams twice. 
Each team was drawn with two opponents from each of the four pots. Oh, you don’t know a thing about pots? If that’s the case, let’s talk about why the <a href="https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/draws/">2024/25 Champions League draw</a> seemed so complex. 
It ought to be because of the fact that all 36 teams were divided into 4 pots, each containing 9 teams. The draw started with Pot 1 which features the strongest title-winning candidates. 
The program automatically drew all eight fixtures for each of the Pot 1 teams. The same thing happened for teams in pots 2, 3, and 4, to complete the draw.
So, let’s go over the basics of the new CL League Phase format:
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36 teams playing in a single league
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A win is 3 points, a draw is 1 point, a loss is 0 points
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Each team plays 8 different teams, 4 home and 4 away
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Each team plays against 2 teams from each of the 4 pots
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After all 8 matches are done, the top 8 teams advance to the ro16
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Teams ranked 9th through 16th play against teams ranked 17th through 24th
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Teams ranked 25th through 36th are eliminated
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Knockout Phase Play-Off</h3>
Once again, the top 8 teams from the League Phase advance straight to the Ro16. There, they await the winners of the Knockout Phase Play-Off.
More precisely, teams ranked 9th - 16th will face off against teams ranked 17th-24th in a classic two-legged contest. The winner will be determined after 180 minutes, plus potentially extra time and penalties. 
<h3 dir="ltr">Knockout Phase</h3>
Starting from the round of 16, there are no format changes. The top 8 teams from the League Phase will join the Knockout Phase Play-Off winners in the classic two-legged Knockout Phase.
<h3 dir="ltr">Finals</h3>
There are also no changes for the final. It remains a single-leg spectacle. We already know the exact date and location for the 2025 Champions League FInal.
This season, the final will be played on 31 May 2025 at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
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<h2 dir="ltr">2024/25 Champions League Draw</h2>
Last Thursday, the football elite gathered in Monaco for the 2024/25 Champions League draw. 
First of its kind, mind you. Even though the draw left many puzzled because of the new format, after the first spell of matches everyone will understand how simple it is and everyone’s going to love it.
As for the draw itself, here are all the fixtures of the top 9 teams from the first pot:
<h3 dir="ltr">Real Madrid Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
Even though Real Madrid’s La Liga season isn’t off to a good start, they’ll be fancying their Champions League chances, that’s for sure. 
Especially after such a good draw. Borussia, Liverpool and Milan seem like the biggest problems, though the likes of Atalanta and Salzburg could cause some issues too.
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Borussia Dortmund home
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Liverpool away
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Milan home
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Atalanta away
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Salzburg home
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Lille away
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Stuttgart home
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Brest away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Man City Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
Manchester City’s draw went pretty well. Pep Guardiola will be happy with Inter and PSG. Juventus away is bound to be a tough nut to crack, but if anyone can do it, it’s Haaland and the company.
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Inter home
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PSG away
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Club Brugge home
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Juventus away
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Feyenoord home
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Sporting CP away
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Sparta Praha home
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S. Bratislava away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Bayern Munich Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
Bayern’s draw is pretty sweet. PSG and Barcelona are the only two matches I’m looking forward to. Everything else should be a walk in the park for Musiala and the co.
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PSG home
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Barcelona away
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Benfica home
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Shakhtar away
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GNK Dinamo home
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Feyenoord away
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S. Bratislava home
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Aston Villa away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">PSG Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
We’re going to see PSG go up against Manchester City once again. The French against Bayern Munich is also going to be a classic. But, then again, so will their fixture against tough-to-crack Atletico. 
Then, as icing on the cake, we’ll see them face off against Arsenal too. PSG has a bucket full of classics!
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Man City home
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Bayern Munich away
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Atletico Madrid home
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Arsenal away
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PSV home
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Salzburg away
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Girona home
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Stuttgart away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Liverpool Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
The Reds will have mixed feelings about the draw. One of the best fixtures of the entire league phase will see them square off against Real Madrid at Anfield.
<img src="https://wbcl.justw.in/liverpool_team_players_29aff6769c.webp" alt="Liverpool Team Players" width="750" height="438">
Leverkusen’s trip to Merseyside is going to be one for the books as well.
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Real Madrid home
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RB Leipzig away
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Leverkusen home
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Milan away
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Lille home
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PSV away
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Bologna home
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Girona away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Inter Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
Inter is in a world of trouble. They got Leipzig, Man City, Arsenal, and Leverkusen from the first two pots. 
Not a good draw. Luckily, the likes of Crvena Zvezda at home and Sparta Praha away should be points secured for the Italians.
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RB Leipzig home
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Man City away
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Arsenal home
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Leverkusen away
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Crvena Zvezda home
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Young Boys away
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Monaco home
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Sparta Praha away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Borussia Dortmund Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
Borussia Dortmund fans can be happy with the draw. They’ll play against the Spanish golden tandem - Barcelona and Real Madrid.
<img src="https://wbcl.justw.in/borussia_dortmund_players_949f1dd552.webp" alt="Borussia Dortmund Players" width="750" height="438">
The remaining 6 matches all seem like a walk in the park, though we’re bound to see some points spillage along the way.
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Barcelona home
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Real Madrid away
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Shakhtar home
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Club Brugge away
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Celtic home
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GNK Dinamo away
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Sturm Graz home
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Bologna away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">Barcelona Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
Barcelona’s draw is pretty mild. They got Atalanta and Benfica from Pot 2, which perfectly opens their door to direct ro16 qualification. We’re left to see if Jamal, Olmo, and Lewandowski can make it happen.
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Bayern Munich home
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Borussia Dortmund away
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Atalanta home
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Benfica away
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Young Boys home
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Crvena Zvezda away
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Brest home
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Monaco away
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</ul>
<h3 dir="ltr">RB Leipzig Group Stage Fixtures</h3>
RB Leipzig is the final team from Pot 1. These guys just can’t catch a break. First, they lost Dani Olmo. 
<img src="https://wbcl.justw.in/rb_leipzig_players_b1c0eaf0dc.webp" alt="RB Leipzig Players">
Now, they drew Liverpool, Inter, Juventus, and Atletico from Pots 1 and 2. Talk about tough luck…
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Liverpool home
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Inter away
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Juventus home
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Atletico Madrid away
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Sporting home
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Celtic away
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Aston Villa home
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Sturm Graz away
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</ul>
<h2 dir="ltr">Thoughts on the All-New Champions League Format</h2>
One thing is certain - fans don’t seem to like the new changes. The draw took them by surprise and now everyone thinks the Champions League is ruined. 
I for one don’t think so. While I still do fancy the old format more, I can see why these changes were introduced.
Number one - money. More games and bigger clashes in the group stage are bound to accumulate more money.
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A portion of this money will be passed down to developing teams, which is always a big plus. The fans will also get a bunch of additional matches to look forward to.
But, as with everything else in life, some people will be for and some will be against...
<h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2>
The all-new CL format has divided the fans. But, if there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that the group stage now packs more high-quality matches than ever before.
So, if you’re ready to get the ball rolling with your Champions League bets, we welcome you to the Winz.io sportsbook!

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