The UEFA Champions League has a brand new expanded format for the 2024-25 season and it takes some explaining. So, let's get to it.

The draw for the league phase (replacing the group stage) took place on Thursday, August 29, with each of the 36 sides handed eight games against eight different teams — four at home, four away. Each side will play two teams each from all four pots determined by coefficient points.

Below is everything else you need to know about the upcoming Champions League campaign as Real Madrid aim to retain their crown.

2024-25 UEFA Champions League fixtures & results

Full schedule, dates and times can be found here via UEFA.com

When is the Champions League group stage? When are the Champions League league phase games? What dates are the Champions League games?

Matchday 1

Tuesday, September 16
Young Boys 0-3 Aston Villa
Juventus 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
AC Milan 1-3 Liverpool - Highlights, recap & analysis
Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
Sporting Lisbon 2-0 Lille

Wednesday, September 17
Sparta Prague 3-0 RB Salzburg
Bologna 0-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic 5-1 Slovan Bratislava
Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Manchester City 0-0 Inter Milan — Recap & analysis
PSG 1-0 Girona

Thursday, September 18
Feyenoord 0-4 Bayer Leverkusen
Red Star Belgrade 1-2 Benfica
Monaco 1-2 Barcelona
Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal — Recap & analysis
Atletico Madrid 2-1 RB Leipzig
Brest 2-1 Sturm Graz

Matchday 2

Tuesday, October 1
12:45pm: RB Salzburg vs Brest
12:45pm: Stuttgart vs Sparta Prague
3pm: Arsenal vs PSG
3pm: Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan
3pm: Borussia Dortmund vs Celtic
3pm: Barcelona vs Young Boys
3pm: Inter Milan vs Red Star Belgrade
3pm: PSV Eindhoven vs Sporting Lisbon
3pm: Slovan Bratislava vs Manchester City

Wednesday, October 2
12:45pm: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Atalanta
12:45pm: Girona vs Feyenoord
3pm: Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich
3pm: Dinamo Zagreb vs Monaco
3pm: Lille vs Real Madrid
3pm: Liverpool vs Bologna
3pm: RB Leipzig vs Juventus
3pm: Sturm Graz vs Club Brugge
3pm: Benfica vs Atletico Madrid

Matchday 3

Tuesday, October 22
12:45pm: Milan vs Club Brugge
12:45pm: Monaco vs Red Star Belgrade
3pm: Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk
3pm: Aston Villa vs Bologna
3pm: Girona vs Slovan Bratislava
3pm: Juventus vs Stuttgart
3pm: PSG vs PSV Eindhoven
3pm: Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund
3pm: Sturm Graz vs Sporting Lisbon

Wednesday, October 23
12:45pm: Atalanta vs Celtic
12:45pm: Brest vs Bayer Leverkusen
3pm: Atletico Madrid vs Lille
3pm: Young Boys vs Inter Milan
3pm: Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
3pm: Salzburg vs Dinamo Zagreb
3pm: Manchester City vs Sparta Prague
3pm: RB Leipzig vs Liverpool
3pm: Benfica vs Feyenoord

Matchday 4

Tuesday, November 5
12:45pm: PSV Eindhoven vs Girona
12:45pm: Slovan Bratislava vs Dinamo Zagreb
3pm: Bologna vs Monaco
3pm: Borussia Dortmund vs Sturm Graz
3pm: Celtic vs Leipzig
3pm: Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen
3pm: Lille vs Juventus
3pm: Real Madrid vs AC Milan
3pm: Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City

Wednesday, November 6
12:45pm: Club Brugge vs Aston Villa
12:45pm: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Young Boys
3pm: Sparta Prague vs Brest
3pm: Bayern Munich vs Benfica
3pm: Inter Milan vs Arsenal
3pm: Feyenoord vs RB Salzburg
3pm: Red Star Belgrade vs Barcelona
3pm: PSG vs Atletico Madrid
3pm: Stuttgart vs Atalanta

Matchday 5

Tuesday, November 26
12:45pm: Sparta Prague vs Atletico Madrid
12:45pm: Slovan Bratislava vs AC Milan
3pm: Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Salzburg
3pm: Young Boys vs Atalanta
3pm: Barcelona vs Brest
3pm: Bayern Munich vs PSG
3pm: Inter Milan vs RB Leipzig
3pm: Manchester City vs Feyenoord
3pm: Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal

Wednesday, November 27
12:45pm: Red Star Belgrade vs Stuttgart
12:45pm: Sturm Graz vs Girona
3pm: Monaco vs Benfica
3pm: Aston Villa vs Juventus
3pm: Bologna vs Lille
3pm: Celtic vs Club Brugge
3pm: Dinamo Zagreb vs Borussia Dortmund
3pm: Liverpool vs Real Madrid
3pm: PSV Eindhoven vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Matchday 6

Tuesday December 10
12:45pm: Girona vs Liverpool
12:45pm: Dinamo Zagreb vs Celtic
3pm: Atalanta vs Real Madrid
3pm: Bayer Leverkusen vs Inter Milan
3pm: Club Brugge vs Sporting Lisbon
3pm: RB Salzburg vs PSG
3pm: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Bayern Munich
3pm: RB Leipzig vs Aston Villa
3pm: Brest vs PSV Eindhoven

Wednesday, December 11
12:45pm: Atletico Madrid vs Slovan Bratislava
12:45pm: Lille vs Sturm Graz
3pm: AC Milan vs Red Star Belgrade
3pm: Arsenal vs Monaco
3pm: Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona
3pm: Feyenoord vs Sparta Prague
3pm: Juventus vs Manchester City
3pm: Benfica vs Bologna
3pm: Stuttgart vs Young Boys

Matchday 7

Tuesday, January 21
12:45pm: Monaco vs Aston Villa
12:45pm: Atalanta vs Sturm Graz
3pm: Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen
3pm: Bologna vs Borussia Dortmund
3pm: Club Brugge vs Juventus
3pm: Red Star Belgrade vs PSV Eindhoven
3pm: Liverpool vs Lille
3pm: Slovan Bratislava vs Stuttgart
3pm: Benfica vs Barcelona

Wednesday, January 22
12:45pm: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Brest
12:45pm: RB Leipzig vs Sporting Lisbon
3pm: AC Milan vs Girona
3pm: Sparta Prague vs Inter Milan
3pm: Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb
3pm: Celtic vs Young Boys
3pm: Feyenoord vs Bayern Munich
3pm: PSG vs Manchester City
3pm: Real Madrid vs RB Salzburg

Matchday 8

Wednesday, January 29
3pm: Aston Villa vs Celtic
3pm: Bayer Leverkusen vs Sparta Prague
3pm: Borussia Dortmund vs Shakhtar Donetsk
3pm: Young Boys vs Red Star Belgrade
3pm: Barcelona vs Atalanta
3pm: Bayern Munich vs Slovan Bratislava
3pm: Inter Milan vs Monaco
3pm: RB Salzburg vs Atletico Madrid
3pm: Girona vs Arsenal
3pm: Dinamo Zagreb vs AC Milan
3pm: Juventus vs Benfica
3pm: Lille vs Feyenoord
3pm: Manchester City vs Club Brugge
3pm: PSV Eindhoven vs Liverpool
3pm: Sturm Graz vs RB Leipzig
3pm: Sporting Lisbon vs Bologna
3pm: Brest vs Real Madrid
3pm: Stuttgart vs PSG

When was the Champions League group stage draw?

The draw for the Champions League group stage took place at 12pm ET on Thursday, August 29 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Explaining how the new Champions League format works

Each team will play eight games in the new league phase of the tournament, against eight different teams. Four games at home and four away.

Teams will be ranked in to one of four pots (full pot list below) and each team will play against two teams from each of the four pots. Teams will play one match at home and one match away against a team from each pot.

The top eight teams in the league phase will qualify for the Round of 16 automatically, while the teams who finish in positions 9-24 will qualify for the knockout round. Teams who finish in positions 25-36 will be eliminated from the Champions League and will not play in any other European competition for the rest of the 2024-25 season.

The eight teams who advance from the knockout round will then face one of the teams who finished in positions 1-8 in the league phase in the Round of 16, and from then on the tournament will be a normal knockout format.

What are the Champions League knockout stage dates?

An extra knockout round has been created, as the teams who finish in spots 9-24 in the league phase will play two-legged ties to reach the Round of 16 where they will face one of the top eight teams from the league phase who qualified automatically for the Round of 16.

• Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025

• Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025

• Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025

• Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025

• Final: 31 May 2025

When and where is the 2024-25 Champions League final?

The Champions League final will take place at the Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31, 2025.