Manchester City will discover who awaits them in the league phase of the Champions League later today.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be out to enjoy more success in Europe’s majorly revamped premier club competition this term, having finally ended their long wait for continental glory by beating Inter Milan in Istanbul in June 2023.
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City looked a decent bet to repeat that feat as they achieved an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League triumph last season, though were eventually ousted at the quarter-final stage after losing a dramatic penalty shootout to eventual winners Real Madrid following an epic 4-4 draw on aggregate.
The club’s 14th successive campaign in Europe will look a little different, with the Champions League subject to a huge Uefa rejig this season and the old group stage replaced by a new opening league phase consisting of 36 teams.
Clubs will be placed into four pots and be drawn against two teams from each pot, playing eight matches each during the league phase - four at home and four away.
The top eight will qualify automatically for the round of 16, with 16 teams to then contest a play-off round and 12 eliminated from Europe altogether.
Which pot are Man City in for the Champions League draw?
Man City have been placed in Pot 1, due to their current lofty position at the summit of Uefa’s coefficient rankings.
Who can Man City face in the Champions League draw?
City will have to play two teams from each pot, including two heavyweight rivals from their own Pot 1.
They cannot be drawn against English rivals Arsenal, Liverpool or Aston Villa at this stage, while they can only been drawn against a maximum of two other teams from the same nation.
Pot 1: RB Leipzig, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV, Celtic, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Lille, RB Salzburg, Red Star Belgrade
Pot 4: Sparta Prague, Monaco, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest, Slovan Bratislava
Dream scenario for Man City
RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Sturm Graz, Slovan Bratislava
Nightmare scenario for Man City
Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, PSV, Sporting CP, Monaco, Girona
Champions League group-stage matchdays
The exact make-up of each week in terms of kick-off times and match dates for the new Champions League ‘league’ phase will be provided later this week by Uefa.
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
