Champions League 24/25: The big dates

On August 29, FC Barcelona will find our which teams they'll be meeting first in the league phase of the competition that starts on September 17
07:10AM Monday 26 Aug (GMT)
First Team

The Champions League this season will be like never before. And that's because the 70th edition of Europe's premier club competition is being played to a totally new format. The draw for the league phase of the new 36-team tournament is happening this coming August 29 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

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ALL THE DETAILS

Brand new system

There will be no group stage from this season on. Instead, games will be played by a league format, which gets started on September 17. Teams will play eight games each, all against different opponents, with the league stage ending on January 29, ready for the knockout rounds, which will be much the same as ever.

  • Week 1: 17-19 September 2024
  • Week 2: 1/2 October 2024
  • Week 3: 22/23 October 2024
  • Week 4: 5/6 November 2024
  • Week 5: 26/27 November 2024
  • Week 6: 10/11 December 2024
  • Week 7: 21/22 January 2025
  • Week 8: 29 January 2025

New play-off round

All of the results are counted towards a league table that works just like any other league, although teams only play eight games, four at home and four away, with the top eight teams advancing automatically. The teams ranked 9th to 24th then play two-legged playoffs to decide on the other eight sides that will make up the round of 16. The first legs are on February 11 and 12 and the returns on February 18 and 19.

Same as ever

From then on, it's the same Champions League knockout stage as ever:

Round of 16 (first legs March 4 and 5, second legs March 11 and 12)
Quarter finals (first legs April 8 and 9, second legs April 15 and 16)
Semi finals (first legs April 29 and 30, second legs May 6 and 7)
Final (Allianz Arena, Munich on May 31).

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