THERE’S nothing quite like a Champions League draw to put football fans on the edge of their seats – and the 2024/25 edition will be historic.
Jude Bellingham’s dream debut season at Real Madrid ended in glory as Los Blancos beat Borussia Dortmund in last season’s Champions League final.
And the most decorated team in the competition will be tipped to win it again having added French phenomenon Kylian Mbappe to an incredible attacking force.
However, Madrid have a lot more work to do to get to that stage due to the huge Champions League format changes.
But first up is the league phase draw, and SunSport have all the information on when it will take place.
Find out about the Champions League 2024/25 league phase draw below.
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When is the Champions League draw 2024/25?
The 2024/25 Champions League draw will take place on Thursday, August 29.
The draw will begin at 5pm BST at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
An automated system will now randomly select eight opponents for each team from four pots and allocate which teams play at home and away.
This is due to the new league phase format.
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What TV channel is Champions League draw 2024/25 on and can it be live streamed?
The 2024/25 Champions League draw will be broadcast LIVE on TNT Sports in the UK.
Subscription members of TNT can stream the entire action through Discovery+
Amazon have purchased UEFA rights in the UK for the first time so the draw will also be available on Amazon Prime Video.
Alternatively, fans can find out who their teams will be drawn with through our live blog.
Can I watch the Champions League draw 2024/25 for FREE?
The Champions League draw is will be broadcast for FREE on UEFA.com
What is the new Champions League format?
Each club will play eight matches in the opening phase – against seeded opposition, in a system designed to ensure that teams play opponents of similar difficulty.
Clubs will only face other sides based on the pot they have been drawn out of and teams cannot face more than two opponents from the same country or from the same association.
The top eight teams in the “final” table will automatically go through to the last 16, where they will be joined by the eight play-off winners of ties between the sides placed ninth to 24th in the table.
Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated from all European competition’s this season – meaning that they will not drop into the Europa League similar to previous years.
Despite there being just eight matches in the opening phase, European matches will be spread over 10 midweek slots.
The new Champions League format also sees the implication of two additional qualifying spots.
They will be awarded to the nations that are top of the “country coefficient” chart each season.
What are the Champions League draw 2024/25 pots?
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Milan
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic
Pot 4: Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, VfB Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest
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What are the Champions League 2024/25 fixture dates?
Below is the full schedule for the 2024/25 Champions League:
- 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 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
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
