The draw in Monaco promises to be exciting

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Champions League returns with a new format

The Champions League is back, and this time with a new face. Real Madrid, reigning champions with 15 titles to their name, will face a revamped format that promises more excitement and competitiveness. The draw, which will be held this Thursday at the iconic Grimaldi Forum in Monaco at 18:00 (16:00 GMT), will mark the start of a historic season.

A draw full of unknowns

Carlo Ancelotti's side, led by star man Kylian Mbappé, will start from the first draw pot. Alongside them will be other giants of European football looking to unseat Los Blancos: Borussia Dortmund, German runners-up and Madrid's last opponents in the London final, Manchester City and Liverpool of England, Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig of Germany, PSG of France, Inter Milan of Italy and FC Barcelona.

The new format of the competition features a group stage with a ‘league’ system, in which each team will face eight opponents. Two of these teams will come from the first pot, such as Real Madrid, while the rest will be distributed among the other three pots. The clubs will play a total of eight matches, four at home and four away, and the full schedule will be announced this Saturday.

The draw will combine the traditional ball-drawing method with sophisticated software that will determine the match-ups, ensuring that teams of the same nationality do not face each other and that no more than two opponents from the same country are drawn at the same stage. This will help avoid repeat matches in the early rounds and maintain suspense until the end.

UEFA reinvents itself in the fight against the Super League

UEFA has decided to revamp the Champions League in a context of confrontation with the Super League. Seeking to be more competitive, diverse and attractive, the organisation has introduced this innovative format that promises to increase the excitement and unpredictability of the tournament. Fans are eagerly awaiting to see if recent finals will be repeated or if there will be a new clash between Barcelona and PSG, as in the last quarter-finals.

Among the teams who will also be in the competition are Atletico Madrid, who come from the second tier after last year's quarter-final exit at the hands of Dortmund. They will share the draw with other heavyweights such as last year's Europa League winners Atalanta, Juventus of Italy, Benfica of Portugal, Arsenal of England, Brugge of Belgium, Milan of Italy and Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.

The surprises of the qualifying round

Pending the completion of the final qualifying rounds, several teams are waiting for their chance to shine in the Champions League. Feyenoord of the Netherlands, Sporting of Portugal, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic of Scotland, Monaco of France, Aston Villa of England, Bologna of Italy, Stuttgart of Germany, Sturm Graz of Austria and surprise packages Brest and Girona of the French and Spanish leagues respectively will be in the mix.

Girona, who finished third in La Liga under Míchel Sánchez, will make their debut in the competition after receiving UEFA approval for complying with multi-ownership regulations, as will Manchester City. Also in this situation are Manchester United and Nice, who will compete in the Europa League.

Match schedule and elimination system

After the eight rounds of the league phase, the top eight teams will advance directly to the Round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th place will compete in an additional play-off to determine the last eight teams to complete the round of 16. The remaining teams will be eliminated. The first round is scheduled for mid-September, and the group stage will conclude in January, with the grand final scheduled for 31 May at the Munich Arena.

Beyond the Champions League: Europa League and Conference League also reinventing themselves

In addition to the exciting Champions League draw, Monaco's Grimaldi Forum will also witness the draw for the Europa League and Conference League on Friday 30. Both tournaments have also adopted a new ‘Champions’ style format, with 36 teams each. Among the participants, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad stand out in the Europa League, while Betis will be hoping to overtake Ukrainian side Kryvbas to join the Conference League.

The Europa League will begin on 25 September, with the final scheduled for 21 May in San Mamés, Bilbao. The Conference League, meanwhile, will kick off on 3 October and culminate in Wroclaw, Poland, on 28 May.

All in all, the new European season promises to be one of the most exciting and full of surprises in recent years. Who will lift the trophy in Munich? Time will tell, but what is certain is that we are in for months of football at the highest level.TIL: Here are the new changes in the champions league