New Champions League Format Debuts with 36 Teams

The UEFA Champions League has adopted a new format for the 2024-2025 season, featuring a single league system comprised of 36 teams. Among the teams participating are prominent clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Celtic. Each team will play eight different opponents, with four matches at home and four away, marking a significant change from the previous format.

In this novel competition structure, teams are awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. The top eight teams on the league table will automatically progress to the knockout stages. Meanwhile, teams ranked ninth to 24th will engage in two-legged play-offs, competing for a spot in the round of 16. The remaining 12 teams will face elimination from the tournament without the opportunity to transition to the Europa League.

For the knockout phase, the teams placed between ninth and 16th will be seeded, ensuring they face teams positioned from 17th to 24th. Successful teams from the play-offs will advance to meet the top eight league finishers, who will also be seeded for this phase, while the path to the final will be partially determined by the draw based on league phase rankings.

Within this new format, Arsenal’s journey begins with an away match against Atalanta on September 20. They will host Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Emirates Stadium on October 2. Arsenal’s league phase matches also include encounters against Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Sporting CP, AS Monaco, GNK Dinamo Zagreb, and Girona. Home games will be played at the Emirates Stadium.

The season commenced on September 17 and will extend through January 30, with knockout rounds scheduled to begin in February. The grand final is set to take place on May 31, 2025, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. In addition to the Champions League campaign, Arsenal remains engaged in several domestic competitions, including the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup.