Afternoon guys.
There’s a new Champions League format next season.
Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool and Aston Villa will be amongst 36 clubs involved in the competition instead of playing three teams twice in a group, each club will now will face eight different opponents within a league instead of a group.
The league phase will run through to the end of January instead of December and there will be weeks which will be dedicated to the Champions League in the football calendar when no other European competitions are played. These matches will be played on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Clubs already qualified:
Atalanta
Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid
Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern, Leipzig
Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bologna, Juventus
Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Sporting CP
Club Brugge
Celtic
Sturm Graz
European Performance Spots: Roma (Ita), Dortmund (Ger)
Champions League winner rebalancing: Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr)
Europa League winner rebalancing: Benfica (Por)
The remaining six club spots will be decided from the qualifying rounds.
To determine the eight different opponents, teams will initially be ranked in four seeding pots. Each team will be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots, playing one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
The top eight clubs in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stages, while the clubs finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure a place in the last 16 of the competition.
Clubs who finish 25-36th are eliminated from all competitions.
Arsenal will be in Pot 2 according to reports which means we are very likely to have a tough fixture list. Champions League football is always tough anyway but there’s no reason we can’t beat a club from Pot 1.
The Metro predicts the Pots will look as following:
POT 1: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, AC Milan, Club Brugge (need to qualify), Shakhtar Donetsk (need to qualify)
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV, Celtic, (Lille, PAOK, Fenerbahce, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Young Boys all via qualification)
Pot 4: Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Stade Brestois, Galatasaray (need to qualify), Sparta Prague (need to qualify)
There you have it, the 2024/25 Champions League format. The new group/league stage anyway. The draw will take place on the 29th August.
Catch up in the comments.
Rico, I’m pretty certain that we won’t get anywhere close to the transfer fee we paid for Vieira..,
Wikipedia:
On 17 June 2022, Porto reached an agreement with Premier League club Arsenal for the transfer of Vieira for a fee of €35 million (£29.9 million) plus €5 million (£4.4 million) in add-ons.[21] Four days later, a long-term contract was agreed.
Arsenal aren’t getting that back.
I wonder if any of the add-ons has been paid to Porto?
Neither do I Kev, this summer or next.
I thought the Portuguese league was a tough one so how on earth did he cope physically.
Thanks for the post Rico…
So, UEFA still drawing seeded clubs from pots, therefore it still isn’t a true league, and thus it’s still manufactured.
What a load of baloney.
Not sure Rico, I mean Porto were pretty tough opponents in last season’s Champions League despite their diving and play acting
My pleasure Kev. 😜
I guess it’s the only way they could do it really. It’s all a big money making stunt anyway which I why I couldn’t give a toot about it. I’d rather we won the FA Cup.
Maybe that’s why/how he survived Kev.. lol
I’d hoped he’d be able to toughen up a bit because he’s talented enough imo.
It’s weird as Pepe was cast aside quite quickly by Arteta and yet is Vieira much different?
Pepe did score a few goals Rico, I can’t remember too many scored by Vieira.
Looking at the prices quoted on the gossip columns, they are much lower than in recent years, maybe clubs are feeling the pinch caused by PSR.
Exactly Cicero, that’s what confuses me somewhat.
Good evening Rico and all
Good post which provokes some thoughts from everyone.
I would love us to win the Champions league for one reason….to shut those fuckers who keep dangling it in front of us that we never won it. Up till Pa was alive I wanted us to win it for him. He yearned for it. Sadly it never came to fruition.
However with regards myself I prefer the EPL over it any day. The EPL is over 38 games not on 13 or so games. I will never rate the Champions league unless its made a whole league where everyone plays everyone home and away.
The new format is same old same old. just a few tweaks and as Kev rightly pointed out……a manufactured league.
That is why I am so so proud of the unbeaten league winners even though many others try to diminish it. If Arteta and the team manage to pull that off again to make us the only team to have done it twice it will be an achievement of astronomic proportions.
I wonder what Keys et al will have to say about that.
Evening Devil, I’d love the PL and FA Cup double.
Yep me too.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13463525/Pep-Guardiola-leave-summer-shock-FA-Cup-final-defeat-Man-United-Man-City-dominance-FINALLY-end.html
Jumping a soon to be sinking ship….
Good Morning Rico and all
Not only Guardiola but the players as well I feel. Highly probable that they know some things which we dont. Its up to the FA and UEFA to show whether they have balls or not to punish them accordingly.
Patrick Vieira had this to say……“To be honest, I felt sorry for Arsenal because they had a really good season and I really enjoyed watching them. They played some really good football. They have some really good talent and the problem for Arsenal was City.
“If City had a bad season, Arsenal would win the league. Arsenal are very strong defensively. Up front, they have some really good players and they played fantastically well.
“I watched some of their games and they were unbelievable.”
“Arsenal closed the gap and it will be even more interesting next season if they can keep that momentum. I think they will be challenging Manchester City.”
Even Pep Guardiola said similar. And he said if things remain the same, that is with MA in charge, Arsenal will be challenging for a very long time.
‘morning all.
I can’t believe Guardiola is stupid enough to announce his departure so soon, Klopp did it last season and look how that turned out. If Guardiola does it he will be a dead man walking.u
Hi Cicero
I dont think he is being stupid. I think he is being wise because I feel he knows some things which we dont and he is safeguarding his future……he wants a top job elsewhere so he is sending out a message to big clubs that he will be available. He realises the strength of Arsenal is on the up while he knows that the accusations will hold plus his players are getting older and need to be replaced. And he is not hanging around to rebuild….he is used only to winning.
Morning Rico and all.
Rico please don’t take this the wrong way. in pot one you have both Man C and Liverpool is that a mistake or did the Metro do that just incase Man C get suspended
Maybe Pep is putting out the feelers just incase Man C get relegated
Morning Geoff, Cicero, Devil, all.
That’s right Geoff, pots are decided by history in the competition I believe..
New post up.