UEFA Champions League: Match dates and everything you need to know about the new format

NEW DELHI: The UEFA Champions League draw for the 2024/25 season is set to take place on Thursday in Monaco. The competition has undergone significant changes, with the number of participating clubs increasing from 32 to 36.
France's Ligue 1 has been granted an additional automatic qualification spot, bringing their total to three, as they are currently the fifth-best European league according to UEFA's ranking.
Furthermore, Germany and Italy, the two leagues with the highest coefficient ranking from the previous season in UEFA competition, have each been awarded an extra berth. The final additional slot will be given to a national champion emerging from the qualifying rounds, which are scheduled to conclude this midweek.

The format of the Champions League has undergone a radical change. Since 2003, the competition featured 32 clubs divided into eight groups of four, with the top two from each section progressing to the last 16.
However, starting from this season, the 36 clubs will be pooled together in a single league, following a "Swiss system" format, which is more commonly associated with chess tournaments.
The Champions League group stage has undergone significant changes. Previously, teams played six matches against each opponent, both home and away. Under the new format, clubs will participate in eight games.
The 36 participating teams will be divided into four seeded pots, each containing nine teams. Every club will face two teams from each pot, playing one match at home and one away.
UEFA states that this "raises the prospect for fans of seeing the top teams go head to head more often and earlier in the competition," acknowledging that this format was introduced when the threat of a breakaway Super League loomed over European football.
No team will face another club from their domestic league, and a maximum of two teams from any one country can be drawn against each other.
The expansion of the Champions League means that the group stage, which previously concluded in December, will now include two additional matchdays in January. The total number of games will increase from 96 in the old group stage to 144 in the new league phase.
After the league phase, the top eight clubs will directly advance to the last 16, while teams ranked 9th to 24th will participate in a two-legged play-off round to determine the remaining spots in the last 16.
These play-off ties will be seeded based on positions in the league phase. The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated from the competition, with no access to the Europa League, unlike in previous years.
When are the Champions League 2024-25 league phase matches?