Europe’s premier club competition is back, with more teams and a refreshed draw process.
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00:00We are days away from the start of Europe's premier football club competition.
00:05The UEFA Champions League returns with a new look this season.
00:09Will the reformatting of the tournament create fresh chaos?
00:13Or will it be business as usual for the top teams in European football?
00:21Hello and welcome to Football Now.
00:24The return of the Champions League is almost upon us.
00:28Yes, Europe's elite club competition is back for its 70th edition
00:32and there are some major changes for 2024.
00:35Real Madrid are the reigning champions but their path back to the final
00:39is now a lot longer if they are going to defend their crown.
00:43Let's take a deep dive into how the changes are reshaping the Continental tournament.
00:48The traditional group stage has been replaced by a new league phase,
00:52known as the Swiss system,
00:54raising the total number of teams from 32 to 36.
00:58Each side will now play eight league fixtures between September and January.
01:03These games will consist of eight different opponents,
01:06a mix of European heavyweights and more winnable fixtures.
01:10The top eight teams then move out of the qualifying phase
01:13and automatically qualify for the round of 16.
01:16Clubs ranked from 9th to 24th will enter a playoff round,
01:19battling it out for the remaining places in the knockout stages.
01:23The bottom 12 teams in the league will crash out of European competition entirely.
01:53It's also important that the teams that don't qualify
01:58don't go to the Europa League like they used to.
02:03I think we're all looking forward to it.
02:05It's something new.
02:07It doesn't excite the players so much
02:09because they've complained that there are a lot of games.
02:15But I think the spectators will like it.
02:18There will be big games and we'll see what happens.
02:21But I think it's going to be pretty cool.
02:24Now, the draw for the league phase was completed back in August.
02:28Some might say that with the old format,
02:30the odds of getting easier opponents was weighted in favour of the bigger teams.
02:35But now the draw is a completely level playing field.
02:38So will that give the so-called weaker teams
02:41a better opportunity of qualifying for the later stages?
02:45110% is equal playing field. It's a league table.
02:48I think the smaller teams are going to come in and be right up for it.
02:51Eight matches, half home, half away, very fair.
02:55You're going to go against Roma, you're going to go, why not?
02:58I 100% think that the top teams, some will get knocked out in this format.
03:04So for me, I definitely think this alludes to more entertainment,
03:07more clubs having a chance of touching that silverware,
03:09which is what we want as much as we love the Galacticos
03:12and we love the big teams coming through.
03:14I think there's a few success stories that will surprise us along the way.
03:18While some teams have had the luck of the draw,
03:20Paris Saint-Germain are certainly one club who haven't.
03:23They'll be coming up against heavyweights such as Manchester City, Arsenal
03:27and Atletico Madrid at the start of the campaign.
03:31It's not good news for the French side,
03:33who are looking to win their first ever European Cup this season.
03:37They've come close on plenty of occasions before,
03:39but what is it about the Champions League and PSG that just doesn't seem to click?
03:45I think clubs like Real Madrid and AC Milan also have a history
03:50and have had to fight to get that trophy.
03:53PSG is on that path as well.
03:55It just takes time and everything has to be done so that they can go all the way.
04:01There's a whole system to put in place so that PSG can win.
04:05It's true that France may have a harder time getting that trophy
04:10because there's less competition,
04:13but PSG has to believe in their chances to go all the way.
04:18That's what's going to bring back that historic feeling.
04:23One team happy to be back on the continental stage is Aston Villa.
04:27They won the trophy way back in 1982,
04:30but haven't featured in the competition for over 40 years.
04:34To put things into perspective, the side from Birmingham, England,
04:38weren't even in the Premier League five years ago,
04:40but now under manager Unai Emery are preparing to face some past winners
04:45such as Juventus and Bayern Munich in the league phase.
04:49It's just magic. They play good football.
04:52They play potent football.
04:54This is the most enjoyable thing about Villa.
04:56It's not even the success, it's not getting into the Champions League.
04:59It's every game I look forward to watching.
05:02Every game I believe Villa could win.
05:04They've got Bayern Munich, they've got Juventus.
05:06It's a whole other ballgame.
05:08Once Villa are in the Champions League,
05:10that sort of thing in you starts to dread.
05:13We're going to get Real Madrid, we're going to have the toughest group,
05:15it's going to be a disaster.
05:17But then I look to some of the other teams.
05:18Villa were in Pot 4, and I look to some of the other clubs.
05:21They have equally as tough draws,
05:23and I feel like Villa have actually been forcing it a little bit
05:26in that it's Bayern and it's Juventus,
05:28two teams that are obviously at a much higher footing than Aston Villa,
05:31but they've got them both at home.
05:33I would fancy taking a stab at them,
05:36and I feel like the rest of the games are genuinely winnable,
05:39which is all you really want really, put yourself in with a chance.
05:42It's set to be another exciting season across Europe
05:45as the new-look Champions League gets underway.
05:48Let us know if you think the new format will be a success
05:51using the hashtag footballnowchampionsleague.
05:54That's all we've got time for from our studio here in Doha.
05:57We'll see you next time. Bye for now.