UCL Draw 2024 Live Updates: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the UEFA Champions League group stage draw for the 2024/25 season!
With news of UEFA set to utilize an AI for the newly introduced league phase draw, many questions have arisen surrounding the new format and what it entails.
For those who wonder, have no worries. We’ve got you covered with all the details you need to know about the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, and live updates on the league stage draw right here.
The previous Champions League group stage format, that we all are familiar with, will be completely erased in the upcoming season.
Instead from the 2024/25 season, 36 clubs will participate in the Champions League league phase (former group stage), allowing four more sides 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 will initially be ranked in four seeding pots. Each team will then be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
This allows clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents and raises the prospect for fans of seeing the top teams go head-to-head more often and earlier in the competition. It will also result in more competitive matches for every club across the board.
Teams qualified for the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League ahead of Thursday’s draw:
Pot One:
- Real Madrid (ESP)
- Manchester City (ENG)
- Bayern Munich (GER)
- Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
- Liverpool (ENG)
- Inter Milan (ITA)
- Borussia Dortmund (GER)
- RB Leipzig (GER)
- Barcelona (ESP)
Pot Two:
- Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
- Atletico Madrid (ESP)
- Atalanta (ITA)
- Juventus (ITA)
- Benfica (POR)
- Arsenal (ENG)
- Club Brugge (BEL)
- Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
- AC Milan (ITA)
Pot Three:
- Feyenoord (NED)
- Sporting (POR)
- PSV Eindhoven (NED)
- Celtic (SCO)
- Young Boys (SUI)
- Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)
- Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
- Lille (FRA)
- Red Star Belgrade (SRB)
Pot Four:
- Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
- Monaco (FRA)
- Sparta Prague (CZE)
- Aston Villa (ENG)
- Sturm Graz (AUT)
- Bologna (ITA)
- Brest (FRA)
- Girona (ESP)
- VfB Stuttgart (GER)