League phase of the Champions League preview

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The league phase of the Champions League returns this week

Are we going to see any shock results over the next few weeks?

Author | Ed

Super News Football | Champions League | PSG fans at 2025 final
PSG fans tifo before 2025 Champions League final

A closer look at the format

The Champions League underwent a major overhaul ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, introducing a new 36-team league stage.

In this expanded format, each club faces eight different opponents, split evenly between home and away fixtures.

The top eight sides at the end of the league stage advance directly to the last 16, while those finishing between ninth and 24th must contest a two-legged play-off to join them. Clubs that end the phase in 25th place or lower are eliminated from Europe altogether, with no drop into the Europa League.

What happened at this stage in 2024/2025?

Last season Liverpool finished top with 21 points, with Arsenal and Aston Villa also securing places in the top eight. Celtic and Manchester City moved into the play-off round, while Club Brugge squeezed through in 24th with only 11 points.

Super News Football | Champions League | 2024/2025 league phase collage
League Phase pictures from 2024/2025

We asked our contributors who will win the competition

Josh D: I am backing PSG to lift the trophy again. They are a young side who already know what it takes to win, and they combine athleticism with a forward-thinking approach.

Terry J: I think PSG have entered a new era of success, built on a clever use of the modern model of positional football, allied with quality, clear leadership and top-class players across the pitch.

Stephen Chad: Predicting Real Madrid to win the Champions League is hardly bold, but it is rarely a bad call. I was impressed with some of the adjustments Xabi Alonso made during the Club World Cup, and bringing Arda Güler further into the fold can only be a positive step.

Ajay: It has been, by Real Madrid standards, an intolerable single season without the trophy the club regards as its birthright, and Alonso’s chief task as manager is to put that right. Madrid are rarely the most coherent side in Europe, yet their wealth of individual talent is unrivalled, and more often than not that proves decisive.

Dan H: I think Liverpool will win it. This is purely on the basis of the huge strengthening they have carried out this summer. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are two high-class players who are ready for the highest level of football. "

Alex W: I am backing Barcelona, a young side who have matured from their superb run to the semi-finals last season. They were unfortunate not to reach the final and played some excellent football against Inter Milan, but ultimately came up short against an organised Inter team who stuck rigidly to their plan.

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