2024/25 represents a watershed campaign for UEFA, with their much-discussed Swiss model reinventing the formats of their three club competitions.

While many were content with the familiar old school group stage format, UEFA have opted to change ways. Antiquated groups have made way for a league structure, with the governing body keen to reduce the number of ‚dead rubbers‘ and make more money.

66.7% more Champions League matches will be played in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24.

The competition has grown considerably and the new format certainly brings about some intriguing novelty. Even the league phase draw’s going to be different.

Here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s league phase draw for the 2024/25 Champions League.

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Giants from around Europe will discover their opponents in the league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League on Thursday 29 August 2024, with the draw to be held at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco.

The league phase draw gets underway at 18:00 CET (17:00 GMT) and will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

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There are plenty of familiar names involved in the 2024/25 Champions League, with a couple of countries having as many as five teams competing in the competition with 36 clubs now qualifying.

Europa League winners Atalanta joined both Milan clubs, Juventus and novices Bologna from Serie A, while Germany’s impressive performance in Europe last season means 2023/24 finalists Borussia Dortmund, who finished fifth in the Bundesliga, qualified alongside Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.

Girona are Champions League debutants for La Liga, with Michel’s upstarts joining the country’s giants in the competition. Barcelona, holders Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid each harbour hopes of continental glory in 2025.

There are just four participants from the lucrative Premier League, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool accompanied by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.

French club Brest and Austrian side Sturm Graz are among the unfamiliar names involved in Thursday’s draw, with the ongoing play-offs set to decide the remaining seven clubs competing in the 2024/25 Champions League.

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There are some similarities from previous years, with the 36 teams being separated into four pots based on their UEFA coefficient. However, the format change means teams will not be drawn into groups. Instead, each team will be drawn against two opponents from all four pots to make up their eight league phase opponents.

Each team will be manually drawn, but their opponents will be generated via AI software that will also decide which games are played at home and away. Every team plays four games at home and four away.

Teams can be drawn against a maximum of two teams from the same country and cannot face sides from the same UEFA member association in the league phase.

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