The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League is fast approaching, with teams and their fans eager to know their opponents in the competition’s group stages. Manchester City are the defending champion of the Cup after defeating Inter Milan in Istanbul; they’ll look to retain the trophy, as other teams will also fight for dominance.
The UEFA Champions League pots have now been decided in anticipation of the group stage draw, which will take place later today; the teams in each pot will be drawn against another within the same pot. However, no team from the same League/association can play against each other.
UCL group stage pots revealed
The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League is unique because it features some teams that have either never played in the competition or haven’t secured a spot in the competition for a long time. Union Berlin will be playing in the Champions League for the first time, while Newcastle United were able to book their place in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
Dutch team Feyenoord will also be part of this year’s edition, having emerged victorious in the Eredivisie during the previous season.
The Champions League qualifying playoffs were concluded on Wednesday evening, allowing the four pots for the Champions League group stage to be finalised. Below are the respective Champions League Pots, as decided after the playoffs.
Pot One
Pot one will consist of the title holders Manchester City, the Europa League winners Sevilla, and six domestic champions in Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Feyenoord, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain.
Because competition rules state that no team can play a side from their own league or association in the group stages, no derbies will be expected until worthy teams advance to the knockout stages.
Pot Two
Manchester United are back in the Champions League, where they have been placed with Arsenal, who also hasn’t featured in this competition since 2016/17.
Among the teams in Pot Two, there are four clubs with past Champions League triumphs, including Inter Milan and Real Madrid, who have secured the title a record 14 times.
Teams in Pot Two include;
- Real Madrid
- Manchester United
- Inter Milan
- Borussia Dortmund
- Atletico Madrid
- RB Leipzig
- Porto
- Arsenal
Pot Three
Captivating matchups could be in store, involving teams like AC Milan, SC Braga, FC Copenhagen, Lazio, PSV, Red Star Belgrade, Salzburg, and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Pot Four
The fourth and final list of clubs includes Celtic, Galatasaray, Newcastle United, RC Lens, Real Sociedad, Royal Antwerp, Union Berlin, and Young Boys.
According to Dailymail, The 2023-24 Champions League group stage draw is set to occur on Thursday, August 31, in Monaco. This event is scheduled to commence at 5 pm BST, following the conclusion of the play-off second leg the day before.
UCL format to change from 2024/25
According to BBC Sports, the upcoming 2024-05 season will mark the final iteration of the current format which features 32 teams competing in the group phase, divided into eight groups of four, and allowing the top two teams from each group to progress. Substantial changes are set to be implemented for the 2024-25 season.
The new UEFA Champions League format will see the participation of 36 teams instead of 32 teams in the competition. Two of the four extra spots will now be assigned to countries whose clubs have performed the best in their respective previous campaigns.
Following the additions from 2024-05, all teams will now play eight matches instead of six against eight different opponents, with four home ties and four away. In the new format, all 36 teams will be ranked within a unified league table system, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss.
The top eight teams in this table will directly advance to the knockout stages, while those placed from ninth to 24th will engage in two-legged play-offs to secure spots in the last 16.
What’s your take on the new UCL format? And who would you like to see face each other in the 2023-24 UCL group stage? Share your predictions with us in the comments.
