All you need to know ahead of UEFA Champions League Gameweek 1

NEW DELHI — The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season is all set to kick off on Tuesday night and it will be a historic one as for the first time 36 teams will be competing for Europe’s premier club football competition. Here is all you need to know ahead of Gameweek 1.

What is the new UEFA Champions League format?

Instead of the usual 32 teams, 36 clubs will participate in the Champions League league phase (former group stage), giving four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe. Those 36 clubs will participate in a single league competition in which all 36 competing clubs are ranked together.

Under the new format, teams will play eight matches in the new league phase (former group stage). They will no longer play three opponents twice – home and away – but will instead face fixtures against eight different teams, playing half of those matches at home and half of them away. To determine the eight different opponents, the teams were initially ranked in four seeding pots. Each team was drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.

Important matches in Gameweek 1

The Gameweek 1 will kick off at 10:15 pm IST on Tuesday with two-time winners Juventus hosting the Dutch champions PSV at the Allianz Stadium and Aston Villa, the side that is returning to the competition for the first time in 42 years, will hope to make a winning comeback when they face Sweden's Young Boys.

Defending champions and record holders Real Madrid will be in action at 12:30 am IST (Wednesday) as they aim to extend their lead as the record winners of the trophy against Bundesliga side VFB Stuttgart.

"The format changes, but it's always the same teams, including Real Madrid. There are others. Some people think we're favourites because we won last year. This year's Champions League will be a different story and hopefully, we can get to the final like we did last season," said Ancelotti in a press conference ahead of the clash.

AC Milan and Liverpool will be battling at the San Siro Stadium as Arne Slot’s men will be hoping to get over the shocking 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. This clash holds a lot of history as the two teams have won the trophy combined 13 times. It is also a rematch of the iconic 2005 UCL final which is often regarded as one of the greatest finals of all time.