The Champions League draw is almost upon us, but this is not Europe's premier competition as you know it. Rather than an eight group, six game path to the last 16 as has been the case since 2004, this year all 36 teams who have qualified for the competition proper will be battling it out against each other for a spot on the road to Munich on May 31.
The league phase of the competition will see every team play eight games between September 17 and January 29. The eight teams who finish with the best record will automatically pass to the first knockout round. Those ranked ninth to 16th in the table will be seeded for a two-legged knockout tie, meaning they play the second match at home, while those who finish between 17th and 24th will make up their unseeded opponents. Everyone else will be out of Europe entirely; no dropping down to the Europa League this time.
Naturally, this new Champions League cannot have each team play everyone else in their league table home and away like they did under the old format. This is where those familiar pots come in. Once more the field will be split into four groups (of nine teams now rather than eight), ranked by coefficient. From there our eight games emerge: regardless of their own pot, every team plays two teams from each of pots one to four, one at home and one away. The same criteria as ever will apply when, with the aid of AI, UEFA makes its draw. Teams cannot face opponents from their own nation. They will also not be able to matchup against more than two teams from the same nation.
Only time will tell if this new format proves to be an improvement on the old group stage, which certainly ran the risk of taking six games to reaffirm the continent's status quo. The league phase will certainly afford more meetings between some of Europe's best and brightest, as our mock draw from Inker proves. Everyone, surely, will be praying to avoid a scenario such as that facing Bayern, who could draw Liverpool, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid. How it will all work out in practice remains to be seen but here's a guide for what you could be seeing come Thursday.
Disclaimer: There are seven teams that have yet to qualify for the Champions League league phase. For the sake of this exercise, we are using Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan, Red Star, Sparta, Slavia Prague and Salzburg based on last week's results from the first leg of the playoff round.
Simulated Champions League draw matchups
Real Madrid
- HOME: RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Feyenoord, Brest
- AWAY: Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Young Boys, Sturm Graz
Man City
- HOME: Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Slavia Praha, Sturm Graz
- AWAY: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven, Bologna
Bayern Munich
- HOME: Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Dinamo Zagreb, Monaco
- AWAY: Manchester City, Club Brugge, Sporting CP, Girona
Paris Saint-Germain
- HOME: Manchester City, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Girona
- AWAY: Inter, Atalanta, Salzburg, Aston Villa
Liverpool
- HOME: Barcelona, Club Brugge, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava
- AWAY: Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Red Star, Stuttgart
Inter
- HOME: Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Young Boys, Stuttgart
- AWAY: Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Slavia Praha, Brest
Borussia Dortmund
- HOME: Real Madrid, Juventus, Red Star, Aston Villa
- AWAY: Barcelona, Benfica, Celtic, Monaco
Leipzig
- HOME: Inter, Atalanta, Celtic, Sparta Praha
- AWAY: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava
Barcelona
- HOME: Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP, Bologna
- AWAY: Liverpool, Juventus, Feyenoord, Sparta
Bayer Leverkusen
- HOME: Manchester City, Club Brugge, Red Star, Bologna
- AWAY: Barcelona, Atalanta, Sporting CP, Aston Villa
Atletico Madrid
- HOME: Inter, Atalanta, Sporting CP, Aston Villa
- AWAY: Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk, Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava
Atalanta
- HOME: Paris Saint-Germain, Leverkusen, Dinamo Zagreb, Sparta Praha
- AWAY: Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord, Sturm Graz
Juventus
- HOME: Barcelona, Benfica, Feyenoord, Monaco
- AWAY: Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Celtic, Girona
Benfica
- HOME: Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Girona
- AWAY: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Red Star, Monaco
Arsenal
- HOME: Real Madrid, Juventus, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava
- AWAY: Inter, Clyb Brugge, Slavia Praha, Brest
Club Brugge
- HOME: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Celtic, Brest
- AWAY: Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen, Salzburg, Bologna
Shakhtar
- HOME: Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Slavia Praha, Sturm Graz
- AWAY: Real Madrid, AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart
AC Milan
- HOME: Liverpool, Shakhtar Donetsk, Young Boys, Stuttgart
- AWAY: Manchester City, Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Sparta Praha
Feyenoord
- HOME: Barcelona, Atalanta, Salzburg, Slovan Bratislava
- AWAY: Real Madrid, Juventus, Sporting CP, Sparta Praha
Sporting CP
- HOME: Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Feyenoord, Aston Villa
- AWAY: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Young Boys, Sturm Graz
PSV Eindhoven
- HOME: Manchester City, AC Milan, Celtic, Bologna
- AWAY: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Slavia Praha, Aston Villa
Slavia Praha
- HOME: Inter, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Monaco
- AWAY: Man City, Shakhtar, Red Star, Stuttgart
Dinamo Zagreb
- HOME: Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Star, Sparta Praha
- AWAY: Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Salzburg, Bologna
Salzburg
- HOME: Paris Saint-Germain, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Stuttgart
- AWAY: Liverpool, Arsenal, Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava
Red Star
- HOME: Liverpool, Benfica, Slavia Praha, Brest
- AWAY: Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Dinamo Zagreb, Girona
Young Boys
- HOME: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP, Sturm Graz
- AWAY: Inter, AC Milan, Celtic, Monaco
Celtic
- HOME: Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Young Boys, Girona
- AWAY: Leipzig, Club Brugge, PSV Eindhoven, Brest
Slovan Bratislava
- HOME: Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Sturm Graz
- AWAY: Liverpool, Arsenal, Feyenoord, Stuttgart
Monaco
- HOME: Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Young Boys, Sparta Praha
- AWAY: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Slavia Praha, Aston Villa
Sparta Praha
- HOME: Barcelona, AC Milan, Feyenoord, Aston Villa
- AWAY: Leipzig, Atalanta, Dinamo Zagreb, Monaco
Aston Villa
- HOME: Paris Saint-Germain, Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven, Monaco
- AWAY: Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP, Sparta Praha
Bologna
- HOME: Manchester City, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Girona
- AWAY: Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, PSV Eindhoven, Brest
Girona
- HOME: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Red Star, Brest
- AWAY: Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Celtic, Bologna
Stuttgart
- HOME: Liverpool, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague, Slovan Bratislava
- AWAY: Inter, Milan, Salzburg, Sturm Graz
Sturm Graz
- HOME: Real Madrid, Atalanta, Sporting CP, Stuttgart
- AWAY: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava
Brest
- HOME: Inter, Arsenal, Celtic, Bologna
- AWAY: Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Red Star, Girona
Premier League
Bundesliga
