You will no doubt know by now that the UEFA Champions League (UCL) will be debuting a brand new format for the 2024/25 season.
With fixtures now decided and September underway, it’s time to clarify exactly what the competition will look like.
Keen to freshen things up and improve, UEFA have settled on a new ‘Swiss system’ that allows teams to face a wider range of opponents.
Happily for UCL Fantasy managers, the official game is the same setup we know and love. You can dive in right now to start your team tinkering, as unlimited transfers are allowed before play starts.
Over the campaign, we’ll be providing a lot more content on this game via Fantasy Football Scout and our sister website Fantasy Football Community.
SIGN UP TO PLAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FANTASY HERE
LEAGUE PHASE
Instead of the previous ‘group stage’, where sides had six matches against three opponents, we now have a ‘league phase’ providing them with eight matches against eight entirely different opponents.
Rather than 32 teams, there are 36 – seeded accordingly with nine in each of the four pots.
Every club will face two per pot: one at home and one away.
The big twist is that all 36 teams exist in one league table. No more ‘group of death’ or head-to-head situations.
HOW TO PROGRESS
After UCL Fantasy Matchday 8, this giant table will determine who reaches the round of 16.
The top eight qualify automatically, whilst teams ranked between ninth and 24th will take part in a two-legged play-off to secure the remaining eight spots.
Meanwhile, those finishing 25th or below will be eliminated, without a Europa League safety net.
From here, it’s the usual 16-team knockout stage. Two-legged ties up to the semi-final and then a Saturday night Munich final.
OTHER CHANGES
Logistically, these two extra guaranteed Matchdays mean the initial stage will now go beyond December. There’ll be two midweeks in January.
And whereas Tuesday and Wednesday remain the primary occasions, Matchday 1 is an ‘exclusive’ week where some will also take place on Thursday 19 September.
This is touched upon in our look at fixture congestion for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City. More matches could mean more line-up headaches for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
HOW IT IMPACTS UCL FANTASY
UCL Fantasy managers don’t have to think beyond January as unlimited transfers are permitted before the start of the knockout rounds.
However, they have two extra Matchdays to consider in the group stage.
More medium-term planning will therefore be required – something we’ll be helping with soon with our Fixture Ticker.
Chip strategy will also be under serious consideration. Previously, many UCL Fantasy managers have favoured playing these early – especially the Limitless – to capitalise on a strong group of fixtures on a particular Matchday. That’s still a viable tactic, of course, but there might be cause to hold fire given that the 36-strong league table will fluctuate dramatically week by week. The race for a top-eight/top-24 finish may mean that more teams have something to play for even come Matchdays 7 and 8, rather than be home and hosed or eliminated with a game or two to spare.
Now this new format makes sense, head over to the UCL Fantasy website and start drafting your Matchday 1 squad.
SIGN UP TO PLAY UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FANTASY HERE
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