How will the new format work?
This is a high-stakes experiment from Uefa, implemented initially for the 2024-27 Champions League cycle. The old group stage has been replaced by a single 36-strong league table with each team playing eight matches against eight different opponents, four at home and four away. It is known as a “Swiss model” and will shake down into a top eight, who qualify directly to the knockout stage, with 16 sides contesting a playoff round. The teams finishing between 25th and 36th will be eliminated when the league phase concludes in January. The knockouts will look familiar, a round of 16 funnelling towards a May final, this time in Munich, and they will be bracketed so the clubs can plot their potential path.
