UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Which teams will play in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League? This is how the pots look for the draw
This new edition of the competition will feature 36 teams for the first time.
Everything is almost set for the 2024/25 Champions League to start. The second leg of the play-off matches, between Tuesday, 27 August, and Wednesday, 28 August, will determine the last teams in the draw.
For the first time, the competition will have a league format instead of group stage games, with matchday one games scheduled between September 17 and 19. Current Champions League winners and 15-time title holders Real Madrid will look to make history as the first team to win the competition under three different formats.
However, Ancelotti’s squad will not have it easy since past winners such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan will also be trying to lift the trophy in its new guise. However, there are still seven places left to fill.
Which teams will play in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League?
Due to the UEFA coefficients, Germany and Italy will be the countries with the most teams in the Champions League (5). The Bundesliga will have Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Stuttgart, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund; The Serie A will have Inter Milan, A.C Milan, Bologna, Juventus, and Atalanta.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, and underdogs Girona will be La Liga’s teams, while Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa will represent the Premier League. PSG, Monaco, and Brest are the last teams from the “Top Five leagues” to enter the pots for the draw.
PSV, Celtic, Sporting CP, Club Brugge, and Sturm Graz won their domestic leagues. Due to the UEFA coefficient and last season’s league standings, Feyenoord, Benfica, and Shakhtar Donetsk will also participate.
The seven teams left will be Young Boys or Galatasaray, Dinamo Zagreb or Qarabag, Lille or Slavia Prague, Midtjylland or Slovan Bratislava,
Bodo/Glimt or Red Star Belgrade, Dynamo Kyiv or FC Salzburg, and Malmo or Sparta Prague.
2024/25 Champions League pots
- Pot 1: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
- Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk and A.C Milan
- Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic, Young Boys/Galatasaray, Dinamo Zagreb/Qarabag, Lille/Slavia Prague
- Pot 3 or 4: Midtjylland/Slovan Bratislava, Bodo/Glimt or Red Star Belgrade, and Dynamo Kyiv/ FC Salzburg
- Pot 4: Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest, and Malmo/Sparta Prague
It is also noteworthy to mention that in this new league format in the Champions League, the teams will face different rivals, both home and away. This is different from what happened in the group stage, where a team faced their group rivals home and away.
The Champions League draw will take place on Thursday, 29 August, at 12 noon ET / 9 a.m PT. You will be able to follow the draw live right here on AS USA.