A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE rule change is set to shake up the competition – just hours before the draw takes place.
Our six Premier League teams will find out who they get in the league phase at 5pm in Monaco.
There will be a special rule change in the Champions League league phaseAP
Coming in NEXT season, any fixture between the same two teams can not be repeated for three consecutive seasons.
But there is a catch – it will only count where the same team is at home.
So there will not be an exact repeat of any fixtures from tonight’s draw happening next season.
The Uefa software will ensure these scenarios will not come into play.
Six Premier League teams have earned the right to mix it with the big boys in the Champions League this season.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Europa League winners Tottenham will all be in the draw for the league phase.
The Gunners went the furthest of the English sides competing in Europe’s elite club competition last term.
Mikel Arteta‘s men reached the semi-finals, losing 3-1 on aggregate to eventual winners PSG.
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English sides will be looking to stop the rot after failing to make an appearance in the Champions League final in back-to-back seasons.
First up is the league phase.
The format will be the same with the 36-place league phase that has brought us incredible fixtures across the tournament.
Drawn from 27 teams that qualified via league positions, the winners of last season’s Champions League and Europa League, and the seven teams that progressed out of qualifying.
The teams are then split into four pots, based on their individual Uefa coefficient ranking.
Each team will play eight games in total, including two teams from each pot, one home and one away.
No group stage fixture can be played against teams from the same country or play more than two matches against teams from another country.
Starting with Pot 1, one physical ball will be withdrawn before the automatic software decides eight opponents for them taking into account the following rules:
Two teams from each of the four pots, with one home and one away match against teams from each pot drawn by the software.
No teams from the same association drawn against each other.
No more than two opponents from the same association.
The Champions League fixture list featuring kick-off times and dates will be published by Saturday, August 30.
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