The Champions League will change face in the 2024-25 season, adding four more clubs and switching to a single group containing all teams.
UEFA have decided – despite the widespread concerns about the modern footballing schedule – to increase the number of European matches played in the Champions League, so the format has been altered to a utilise a ‘Swiss model’.
The changes, which see the number of total matches increased from 125 to 225, sees all 36 clubs in one large group. Each team will play eight games, four home and four away, against opponents decided in the group draw.
The draw will separate teams into four pots, with seedings based off club coefficients. The clubs will play two teams from each pot, and generally will not be drawn against clubs from the same country.
The top eight teams in the group will automatically qualify for the Round of 16, whilst teams in ninth to 24th will enter a play-off round for the remaining eight spaces. The bottom 11 teams are eliminated and do not drop down to the Europa League.
The knock-out stage draw uses seedings based on the final table in the group stage, giving a slight edge to teams who perform well in the first round.
Two of the four extra teams will qualify for the Champions League based on the top two country coefficients, meaning there’s now opportunities for the fifth-place finisher in Serie A to book their spot in the competition, although this depends on the performance of Italian teams in Europe.