How New Champions League Draw Will Be Done, Possible Teams Arsenal Could Face
- Players and fans alike will have to contend with the new expanded Champions League that will adopt a new format
- The system will see every team play eight different clubs in the league phase, with the top eight getting automatic qualification
- TUKO.co.ke now explains how the draw will work with the random picking up of balls by ex-players partially done away with
Fans are still grappling with how the new Champions League format will look like ahead of the new season.
UEFA replaced the group stage with the league phase in a bid to enhance the fan experience and have more high-profile matches.
Source: Getty Images
The number of teams will be increased to 36 from the previous 32, with every team playing eight different teams in the league phase—four at home and four away.
New Champions League format explained
TUKO.co.ke had earlier given a concise breakdown of everything you need to know about the new Champions League format.
When is the Champions League draw?
Now that you know all about the format, it is time to learn about the draw. This year's draw will be conducted on August 29 ahead of the first round of action on September 17.
The pots have still been retained; only that we will have four pots of nine teams each, not eight like the previous editions when we had 32 teams.
How the Champions League draw will be done
There is a slight change with the pots. Unlike in the past, where Pot 1 was reserved for the Champions League and Europa League holders and the league title winners of Europe's best six leagues, only the Champions League winner will have an assured spot in this new system.
The other teams in Pot 1, all the way to 4, will be grouped according to their coefficient rankings heading into the new season.
Read more on the best-ranked clubs in Europe this season and how UEFA calculates the coefficients.
Also, the pots are not very relevant in this new system. In the old system, a team in Pot 1 was more or less assured of a 'favourable' group as they could only be drawn with teams from Pots 2, 3, and 4. In this new system, teams in a Pot can be drawn with teams from their own Pots.
Champions League draw restrictions
Another thing to note is that teams from the same domestic leagues cannot play against each other in the league phase. For example, Manchester City cannot play Liverpool, and Stuttgart cannot play Borussia Dortmund.
Additionally, a team cannot face more than two teams from the same domestic league. For example, Arsenal can be drawn against Inter Milan and Juventus but cannot have Bologna as well in the league phase.
How will home and away fixtures be determined?
The draw will be computerised, with one team drawn at random by an ex-player, as has been the norm. Afterwards, the computer will do all the work of assigning the team its opponents, considering the above-named restrictions and any other UEFA might put in place beforehand and then determine which fixtures will be played at home.
Who can Arsenal face in the Champions League draw?
All of them save for Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa, as they are from the same league. So Mikel Arteta's side could easily draw a trip to Santiago Bernabeu or a rematch against Bayern Munich at the Emirates.
How the Champions League knockout draw will work
Given that every team plays eight games, the maximum a team can get at the end of the league phase fixtures is 24. So, to ensure competitiveness throughout the games, UEFA has assigned the final league position to a place in the knockout bracket.
What this means is number 1 and number 2 in the league phase cannot face each other until the final. Number 3 and 4 cannot face number 1 and 2 at least until the semi-final. So, in essence, the higher you finish in the league phase, the better chances you have of avoiding stronger teams in the early stages of the knockout round.
Ronaldo to be honoured by UEFA
Legit.ng has reported that Christiano Ronaldo will be feted during the UEFA Champions League draw on Thursday.
The ceremony at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Ronaldo will be honoured for scoring the most goals in the competition's history.
Ronaldo has 140 goals in 183 games in the competition for Sporting CP, Man United, Real Madrid, and Juventus
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
