When & how does Champions League draw work | UEFA Champions League

 Champions League draw live updates

The highly anticipated Champions League group-stage draw is set to take place today at 5 pm UK time in Monaco, and it promises to be an exciting event for football fans. Teams like Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Celtic will soon learn their opponents for the upcoming league phase.

A New Era for the Champions League

The 2024/25 Champions League season brings a significant overhaul to the competition's format. The number of matches will increase from 125 to 189, and the league phase will now extend to the end of January instead of wrapping up in December. This extended timeline allows for dedicated weeks in the football calendar exclusively for the Champions League, without overlap with other European competitions.

In the new format, the winning team will have played 17 matches across the tournament. Another change fans can expect is that matches will be spread across three days—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday—making this the new norm for Europe's most prestigious club competition.

Timing of the Draw

The draw for the league phase will take place today, Thursday, August 29, at 5 pm UK time.

Understanding the New Format

The biggest transformation this season is the shift from the traditional group stage to a single league phase, which will include all 36 participating teams. Each team is now guaranteed a minimum of eight games against eight different opponents—four at home and four away—instead of the previous six matches against three teams. Teams from the same country cannot face each other during this phase, although cross-border matchups between English and Scottish teams are possible. UEFA will confirm any additional restrictions before the draw.

The top eight teams from the league phase will automatically qualify for the knockout stages. The teams finishing 9th to 24th will enter a two-legged play-off to secure a spot in the last 16. Teams ranked 25th to 36th will be eliminated from all competitions.

How the Draw Works

The draw is a combination of manual and automated processes. All 36 teams will first be manually drawn on stage. Following this, a designated software will randomly assign each team eight opponents across four pots, which will be displayed both on-screen and on-stage at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo. The software will also determine the home and away fixtures.

The draw will commence with Pot 1, containing the strongest teams, including the current Champions League holders, and will proceed through the four pots.

Who's in the Draw?

Here’s a breakdown of the teams in each pot:

• Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona.
• Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan.
• Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb, Red Bull Salzburg, Lille, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys, Celtic.
• Pot 4: Slovan Bratislava, Monaco, Sparta Prague, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest.

Each team will face two different teams from each pot, playing one match at home and one away, ensuring they play eight different opponents overall.

Why a Computerized Draw?

The new system, which is expected to take around 35 minutes, is designed to be both efficient and fair. Without the software, a manual draw for the expanded competition would take up to four hours and require around 1,000 balls and 36 glass bowls. To ensure security and fairness, UEFA has implemented backup systems and will have the draw audited by Ernst & Young.

When Will Fixtures Be Announced?

The complete fixture list will be released on Saturday, August 31.

League Phase Matchdays for the 2024/25 Season

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

Knockout Stages Schedule

• Knockout round play-offs: February 11-12 and February 18-19, 2025
• Round of 16: March 4-5 and March 11-12, 2025
• Quarter-finals: April 8-9 and April 15-16, 2025
• Semi-finals: April 29-30 and May 6-7, 2025
• Final: May 31, 2025

2025 Champions League Final

The final will be held at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31, 2025, concluding what promises to be a thrilling season in Europe's premier club competition

How Will the Draw Work?

The draw process for the 2024/25 Champions League league phase will be a mix of tradition and technology. Clubs are seeded into four pots based on their club coefficient rankings at the beginning of the season. However, there is one exception: the Champions League titleholders will always be top seed in Pot 1.

Each club will be matched with two opponents from each pot, resulting in a total of eight matches—four at home and four away. Notably, teams cannot face opponents from their own country in the league phase, and they can only be drawn against a maximum of two teams from the same nation.

The draw itself will begin with all 36 teams being manually drawn using physical balls, a classic method that adds a layer of anticipation. After each team is drawn, an automated software will take over to randomly assign their opponents. These matchups will be revealed in real-time on screens in the draw hall and on television. The software will also determine which fixtures will be home games and which will be away.

The process will start with Pot 1, where the strongest teams reside, and will proceed sequentially through the remaining pots until every team has been assigned their opponents. This structured approach ensures a balanced and fair draw while maintaining the excitement of the traditional ball draw.