The 2024-25 Champions League group-stage fixtures – in a new format – have been revealed as Premier League quartet Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa learn their opponents.
Liverpool have been handed a tough introduction to the new Champions League format with Real Madrid one of their eight opponents in the group phase.
A 36-team league has replaced the previous format of four groups of eight, resulting in many of European football’s powerhouses having to face each other at some stage in an earlier round than normal.
The pick of the draw from a Premier League perspective is undoubtedly Liverpool being handed a home fixture against defending champions Real Madrid.
Arne Slot‘s must also welcome Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield, with trips also on the agenda to RB Leipzig, AC Milan and Girona.
Meanwhile, Manchester City will visit the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in a draw that has also presented them with a home encounter with Inter Milan.
© Reuters
In comparison to the fixtures handed to Liverpool and Man City, Premier League rivals Arsenal and Aston Villa have been given more favourable schedules.
Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners must play host to PSG and travel to San Siro to meet Inter, yet they will be satisfied with their other six fixtures.
While some Villa supporters may have been dreaming of the most glamourous fixtures possible, they have been presented with a draw that gives them every chance of qualifying for the last 16.
Not only do games versus Bayern Munich and Juventus come at home, their four away games are versus RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, Young Boys and Monaco.
Manchester City: Inter Milan (home), PSG (away), Club Brugge (home), Juventus (away), Feyenoord (home), Sporting Lisbon (away), Sparta Prague (home), Slovan Bratislava (away).
Liverpool: Real Madrid (home), Leipzig (away), Bayer Leverkusen (home), AC Milan (away), Lille (home), PSV (away), Bologna (home) and Girona (away).
Arsenal: PSG (home), Inter Milan (away), Shakhtar Donetsk (home), Atalanta (away), Dinamo Zagreb (home), Sporting Lisbon (away), Monaco (home), Girona (away).
Aston Villa: Bayern Munich (home), Leizpig (away), Juventus (home), Club Bruges (away), Celtic (home), Young Boys (away), Bologna (home) and Monaco (away)
More to follow.