FC Barcelona UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw: The league draw for the 2024/25 Champions League draw took place last night, and we now know all the matches that will take place in the ‘League Phase’ of the competition. Today, we will look at all the matches FC Barcelona will play in the opening round of the UCL.
Massive changes have been made to the format of the Champions League. First, there are now 36 teams in the tournament as compared to 32 that were the last season. With the increased number of teams, there is no longer a group stage that sees all teams go into one of eight groups of four teams each, where they would face each team twice with the top two advancing forward. Now, in the new league phase, all teams will face eight different teams and will be in a massive table consisting of all 36 teams.
Before the draw, all teams were divided into one of four pots based on their UEFA coefficient ranking. Each team will face four teams at home and four other teams away. Each team will also face at least two teams from each pot, ensuring a varied yet equal level of competition for each side.
The teams that finish in the top eight will qualify for the round of 16, while the teams finishing 9th to 24th will go into an elimination playoff, the winner of which would then play in the round of 16. The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated from the tournament and will not go into the Europa League or the Conference League.
While we know whom each team will face and we also know all the Matchday dates for the league phase, we are yet to know the exact Matchday for any of the games as this information will be released on August 31. This means that we do not know the exact date for any of these matches.
With all that being said, here are the eight matches Barcelona will play in the league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League: FC Barcelona UCL 2024/25 League Phase Draw.
FC Barcelona UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw
1) Bayern Munich (Home)
These two teams have a long history in the Champions League, a history dominated by Bayern Munich. The Bavarians have won the last six games between them; this includes the 2019/20 season quarterfinal, where Bayern won 8-2. After winning the Bundesliga 11 seasons in a row, they finally lost the title to Bayer Leverkusen last time around; in fact, the German giants finished third in their domestic league. Bayern Munich was in Pot One of the draw.
2) Borussia Dortmund (Away)
While teams are not supposed to face two teams from the same country, it can happen if no other combination of teams is possible, this leaves us with FC Barcelona facing two German sides. Despite finishing fifth in the Bundesliga last season, Dortmund made it to the UEFA Champions League due to the high coefficient rating of the German League. Borussia Dortmund was in Pot One of the draw.
3) Atalanta (Home)
Over the last few years, Atalanta have become Champions League regulars. They usually finish in the top four of Serie A, something they did last season with a fourth-place finish. But it was their Europa League win that brought them to the UCL once more. They are one of those tricky teams that the big teams will have to take care not to trip against in this new format. Atalanta was in Pot Two of the draw.
4) Benfica (Away)
Benfica might be one of the teams that the new UCL format will be detrimental to. While this team almost always makes it to the Champions League, on many occasions, they have finished third in their group and fallen down to the Europa League, something that will not be possible now. Besides that, Benfica finished second in Liga Portugal to reach the UEFA Champions League, and they were in Pot Two of the draw.
5) Young Boys (Home)
Young Boys have been a dominant force in Swiss football. The defending two-time champions of the Swiss Super League, the team is European football regulars. They make it to the qualifiers of either the Champions League or the Europa League every year, making it through on many occasions like they did this season. Young Boys were in Pot Three of the draw.
6) FK Crvena Zvezda [Red Star Belgrade] (Away)
Red Star Belgrade, too, are a staple of European football. Having won the Serbian SuperLiga nine times in a row, this club won their domestic league last season to make it to the UCL playoff, where they defeated Bodo/Glint to make it to the league proper. FK Crvena Zvezda was in Pot Three of the draw.
7) Stade Brestois [Brest] (Home)
Brest is one of the smallest clubs in this competition. The perennial Ligue 1 midtable side had a dream season in 2023/24, finishing the league in third and thus making it to the UEFA Champions League. This is Brest’s first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. Stade Brestois was in Pot Four of the draw.
8) Monaco (Away)
A few seasons ago, Monaco used to be Champions League regulars. In fact, this is one of only three clubs to have won the Ligue 1 in the last 10 seasons besides PSG and Lille. But over the last few years, they have fallen out of being among the top teams in France. However, they have bounced back over the last couple of seasons, having a few finishing in and near European football spots. Monaco, the place where the league draw was held, finished second in Ligue 1 and made it to the UCL. Monaco was in Pot Four of the draw.
These are all the games FC Barcelona will play in the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 as they look to become a dominant European power once more.
Check Out: FC Barcelona UCL 2024-25 League Phase Draw
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