Ogasabi on 9am news reports that Liverpool will face Real Madrid as part of the revamped 36-team Champions League league format. Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is set to return to Germany to face Bayern Munich, his former club. This will be the third time in the last four seasons that Bayern and Barça will meet in the competition, with Bayern winning the last six encounters, including an 8-2 quarterfinal victory in 2020 under Flick.
In breaking news from 9am news Nigeria, the Champions League draw, conducted with the help of Gianluigi Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo, and UEFA’s supercomputer, also produced heavyweight clashes like Manchester City vs. Paris Saint-Germain and a rematch of last year’s final between Borussia Dortmund and Madrid. Arsenal managed to avoid some of the toughest teams from Pot 1, drawing PSG and Inter Milan instead. Aston Villa will face Bayern Munich for the first time since their 1982 European Cup final victory.
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In addition to hosting Real Madrid, Liverpool will also welcome back former midfielder Xabi Alonso, who now manages Bayer Leverkusen, to Anfield. Alonso was heavily linked to the Liverpool managerial role following Jürgen Klopp’s surprise announcement in January that he would step down.
New Format Explained
Ogasabi on 9am news details that under the new system, each team will play eight games before the knockout stages—two more than in previous years—with the final round of matches scheduled for January 29. Each club was drawn against eight different opponents, four at home and four away, with teams from the same league not being allowed to face each other. Additionally, no club can play more than two teams from one country.
Furthermore, The top eight teams will advance directly to the round of 16. Finally, Teams finishing between ninth and 24th place will compete in a knockout playoff stage, while the bottom 12 teams will be eliminated. Dates, times, and order of fixtures for each team will be announced on Saturday.
Champions League draw
Manchester City: Inter Milan (H), PSG (A), Club Brugge (H), Juventus (A), Feyenoord (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Sparta Prague (H), Slovan Bratislava (A)
Arsenal: PSG (H), Inter Milan (A), Shakhtar Donetsk (H), Atalanta (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Monaco (H), Girona (A)
Liverpool: Real Madrid (H), RB Leipzig (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), AC Milan (A), Lille (H), PSV (A), Bologna (H), Girona (A)
Aston Villa: Bayern Munich (H), RB Leipzig (A), Juventus (H), Club Brugge (A), Celtic (H), Young Boys (A), Bologna (H), Monaco (A)
Real Madrid: Dortmund (H), Liverpool (A), AC Milan (H), Atalanta (A), Salzburg (H), Lille (A), Stuttgart (H), Brest (A)
Barcelona: Bayern Munich (H), Dortmund (A), Atalanta (H), Benfica (A), Young Boys (H), Red Star Belgrade (A), Brest (H), Monaco (A)
Atlético Madrid: RB Leipzig (H), PSG (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), Benfica (A), Lille (H), RB Salzburg (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Sparta Prague (A)
Bayern Munich: PSG (H), Barcelona (A), Benfica (H), Shakhtar Donetsk (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Feyenoord (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Aston Villa (A)
Bayer Leverkusen: Inter Milan (H), Liverpool (A), Atlético Madrid (A), AC Milan (H), RB Salzburg (H), Feyenoord (A), Sparta Prague (H), Brest (A)
Borussia Dortmund: Barcelona (H), Real Madrid (A), Shakhtar Donetsk (H), Club Brugge (A), Celtic (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Sturm Graz (H), Bologna (A)
Inter Milan: RB Leipzig (H), Man City (A), Arsenal (H), Leverkusen (A), Red Star Belgrade (H), Young Boys (A), Monaco (H), Sparta Prague (A)
AC Milan: Liverpool (H), Real Madrid (A), Club Brugge (H), Bayer Leverkusen (A), Red Star Belgrade (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Girona (H), Slovan Bratislava (A)
Juventus: Man City (H), RB Leipzig (A), Benfica (H), Club Brugge (A), PSV (H), Lille (A), Stuttgart (H), Aston Villa (A)
Paris Saint-Germain: Man City (H), Bayern Munich (A), Atlético Madrid (H), Arsenal (A), PSV (H), RB Salzburg (A), Girona (H), Stuttgart (A)
Celtic: RB Leipzig (H), Borussia Dortmund (A), Club Brugge (H), Atalanta (A), Young Boys (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Aston Villa (A)
