UEFA Champions League Draw: How to watch and stream, who could Celtic face, pots and new UCL format explained
Here’s where you can watch the draw for the 24/25 Champions League live - and who Celtic could face in the League Phase.
Celtic are set to discover which of Europe’s elite they will face in the 24/25 UEFA Champions League, with the draw for this season’s competition now just hours away.
Set to take place in Monaco, the Hoops will be Scotland’s sole participants in this season’s competition after Rangers exited at the qualifying stage following a 2-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv a fortnight ago and will be aiming to reach the knockout stages of the competition for the first time since 2012. Brendan Rodgers’ side can enter the new-look Champions League with confidence too, after beginning their domestic campaign in superbly, winning their opening four games in devastating fashion.
The Hoops were left frustrated in the Champions League last year, losing four of their six Group E games, but ended their campaign in positive fashion with a 2-1 win over Feyenoord at Celtic Park. However, with the key additions of Adam Idah, Alex Valle and Kasper Schmeichel this summer, Celtic’s squad looks in good enough shape to have a real go in the competition this year.
Want to know who Celtic could face, how the new look Champions League works and when the games will be played?
Here is everything you need to know about the new look Champions League, who the Hoops could come up against and when the draw for the League Phase will take place.
New Champions League format explained
This year’s competition has taken on a brand new format for the 24/25 season, with the group stage now scrapped in favour of a ‘League Phase’. Previously, 32 teams would be placed into eight groups of four, with each side facing each other home and away. The top two sides from each group would then qualify for the last 16 stage of the competition. However, this format has now been changed.
The new Champions League format will see 36 clubs participate in a ‘league phase’. Competing sides will no longer play three teams home and away in a group and will instead take on eight different sides with four home games and four away games. In order to determine fixtures, each teams will be placed into four seeding pots, with each team then drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots. They will play one match against a team from each pot at home, and one away.
When is the draw for the Champions League and how to watch live
Set to take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, the draw for the 24/25 UEFA Champions League will take place tomorrow (Thursday 29 August 2024). With a confirmed start of 5pm UK time, the draw will be broadcast live on TNT Sports, or streamed via Discovery+ for those with TNT subscriptions. You can also tune in to watch the draw live on UEFA.com, with the TNT Sports YouTube channel also streaming the draw live.
Amazon Prime Video will also be screening the draw, after the company purchased the UEFA rights in the UK for the very first time.
Champions League group stage dates, when does the Champions League start
The League Phase officially starts on Tuesday 17 September 2024, with Celtic’s opening game in the 24/25 Champions League set to take place between 17–19 September 2024. Matchday two in the Champions League is set to take place on 1/2 October 2024. The rest of the Hoops’ fixture list will be as follows:
Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024
Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024
Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024
Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024
Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025
Matchday 8: 29 January 2025
Who could Celtic be drawn against in the Champions League
The Hoops will entered into the new-look League Phase and have already been confirmed to be in pot 3 for the draw, alongside Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Lille and Red Star Belgrade. Drawn into a League Phase with eight teams, Celtic will play eight games, with two opponents drawn from each of the four pots.
One match from each pot will be at home, and the other away. No more than two teams from one country will be drawn from the list of eight.
Champions League pots 24/25
Pot 1
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Bayern Munich
PSG
Liverpool
Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig
Barcelona
Pot 2
Bayer Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid
Atalanta
Juventus
Benfica
Arsenal
Club Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan
Pot 3
Feyenoord
Sporting Lisbon
PSV Eindhoven
Celtic
RB Salzburg
Young Boys
Lille
Dinamo Zagreb
Red Star Belgrade
Pot 4
Monaco
Sparta Prague
Aston Villa
Bologna
Girona
Stuttgart
Sturm Graz
Brest
Slovan Bratislava
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