After the conclusion of the final Champions League qualification matches on Wednesday night, all competing teams have been confirmed for the 2024-25 season, which means that Inter, Juventus, Milan, Atalanta and Bologna now know which pots they will be in for Thursday’s draw.
The 2024-25 Champions League will be the first edition that uses the new 36-team format.
At the official draw on Thursday, there will be four pots made up of nine teams each. Every club will play two teams from each pot, selected at random, but they will not be able to face a team from the same nation during the competition’s league phase.
That means that a meeting of two Italian teams can not happen until the knock-out rounds, as it was with the previous group stage format.
The reigning Serie A champions, Inter, are the only Italian side to feature in Pot 1.
There will be three Serie A representatives in Pot 2: Juventus, Milan and Atalanta.
Bologna, who qualified despite finishing the 2023-24 season in fifth place – also thanks to Atalanta’s victory in the Europa League final, will be in Pot 4.
Champions League Pots confirmed
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona.
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Milan.
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb, RB Salzburg, Lille, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys, Celtic.
Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava, AS Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest.
A finish outside the top 24 to come for Milan. dark days and nights ahead. buckle up/