ANKARA
The UEFA Champions League’s inaugural league phase will begin on Tuesday.
The new season will start with the Juventus vs. PSV Eindhoven, and Young Boys vs. Aston Villa fixtures.
Both games will kick off at 1645GMT.
Meanwhile, AC Milan will meet Liverpool at Milan’s San Siro Stadium, 1900GMT.
Real Madrid, who were crowned the 2024 champions in June, will host German opponents Stuttgart at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. This match will also begin at 1900GMT.
In the 2024-25 season, 36 clubs are participating in the league phase, and under the new format each club will play eight matches at this stage. The best eight teams in standings will qualify for the last 16.
However the clubs, which will finish the league stage between the ninth and 24th spots, will play a two-legged knockout playoff to book their place at the last 16.
Teams that will complete the league stage in 25th or lower ranks will be eliminated, and will not go to the second-tier UEFA Europa League.
From the last 16 onwards, the Champions League will go on with its existing format of knockout stages; quarterfinals, semifinals, and a single-legged final in a neutral venue that UEFA has selected.
The final will be held at Bayern Munich’s home ground; the Allianz Arena on May 31.
This venue has hosted the 2012 Champions League final when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties.
League phase – Matchday 1 fixtures
Tuesday:
Juventus vs. PSV
Young Boys vs. Aston Villa
Bayern Munich vs. Dinamo Zagreb
AC Milan vs. Liverpool
Real Madrid vs. Stuttgart
Sporting Lisbon vs. Lille
Wednesday, Sept. 18:
Bologna vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
Sparta Prague vs. Salzburg
Club Brugge vs. Borussia Dortmund
Celtic vs. Slovan Bratislava
Manchester City vs. Inter Milan
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Girona
Thursday, Sept. 19:
Crvena Zvezda vs. Benfica
Feyenoord vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Atalanta vs. Arsenal
Atletico Madrid vs. Leipzig
Monaco vs. Barcelona
Brest vs. Sturm Graz
