The excitement of the Champions League is finally with a new season and a new format. Real Madrid will be back to defend their title, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in the 2024 UCL final. The 2024-25 UCL season starts in two weeks, so let’s take a look at the new format and our predictions for the league phase.
The 2024–25 UEFA Champions League full draw was held in Monaco on Thursday, August 29, and it promises a lot of big clashes in the early stages. The competition will kick off on September 17, 2024, with the league stage and end with the final on May 31, 2025. This UCL final will be played at the famous Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
There will be two UCL opening matchups this year, as Juventus take on PSV Eindhoven and Young Boys will host Aston Villa on September 17. Real Madrid will start their title defense against VfB Stuttgart at home on the same day.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | UEFA Champions League Season 2024/25 |
| ⚽️ Venues: | Stadiums Across Europe |
| 🗓️ League Phase Dates: | 17 September 2024 – 29 January 2025 |
| 🗓️ 1st Round Play-off Dates: | 31 January 2024 – 19 February 2025 |
| 🗓️ Knockout Stage Dates: | 4 March 2024 – 31 May 2025 |
UEFA has decided to change the format of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League starting this season. There will be 36 teams fighting for the title, so they have added four more teams compared to the previous system and split them into 4 pots with 9 clubs in each. All of the 36 teams are put in a single league table (that’s why it’s a League Stage) instead of splitting them into groups, and every club receives their unique 8 opponents. Each team plays a total of eight games in the league stage against those eight different opponents, two from each of 4 pots, with a home and away game against teams from each pot as well.
The top eight teams at the end of the UCL League stage qualify directly for the knockouts, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th places will play in the two-legged knockout match in the 1st round play-off first, and the winners will join the top 8 teams in the round of 16. The teams finishing in 26th to 36th places will be knocked out and won’t join the UEL. The knockout system remains the same after that with the quarterfinals, semifinals, and then the final.
This will be the 70th edition of the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid have won by far the most UCL titles (15), while AC Milan are their closest rivals with seven trophies. Liverpool and Bayern Munich come after that with six titles each. The previous editions of the Champions League had only 32 teams, so the new format will give four more teams the opportunity to play at this high level.
The new league phase will also extend the number of matches in the tournament, as now each team plays eight games instead of only six, while also giving more chances for the weaker teams to qualify through the 1st round play-off.
Here’s a list of the last five Champions League winners, as Real Madrid are the only team that have won more than one title in the last five editions:
After getting the new UCL format explained, let’s take a look at the 24/25 Champions League odds and the favorites to win the title from the best football bookmakers:
The Citizens couldn’t defend their UCL title last season, as they were knocked out by Real Madrid in the quarterfinals on penalties. Man City have one of the best squads in Europe, especially in the offense. They have had a great start to the season by beating Man United in the Community Shield, and they have also won the first three games in the Premier League comfortably. Pep Guardiola has won three UCL titles and is the best manager in the world, so they are understandably one of the big favorites.
Real Madrid arguably have a squad that is equal to Man City’s in strength. Los Blancos aren’t having the best start in La Liga by dropping four points in the first four games, but they have won the UEFA Super Cup before that over Atalanta. Real Madrid are the most successful club in the Champions League, and they have the most successful manager in the competition as well, Carlo Ancelotti, so their chances are high to win the title.
Arsenal’s odds are pretty low as they have a very solid defense that can cause problems to any offense on their day, especially after adding the Italian defender, Riccardo Calafiori. They have also got Raheem Sterling on a loan from Chelsea to increase their offensive depth. The Gunners couldn’t get past Bayern Munich in the UCL quarterfinals last season, but they are looking even stronger this year and will try their best to win the title.
The Champions League finals will be played at Bayern Munich’s stadium, so the motivation is definitely there to play the final at home for the Bundesliga team. The Bavarians have had one of their biggest transfer windows in years, as they have acquired Michael Olise from Crystal Palace and Joao Palhinha from Fulham. This is the first year for Vincent Kompany as the team’s coach, and he wants to prove himself, so it will be interesting to see how they will perform this season.
Liverpool surprised everyone with how well they have started the season, considering that they just had a coaching change. The Reds are the only team in the Premier League not to concede a single goal so far, and they have been very solid offensively as well, especially after adding Federico Chiesa. Liverpool have reached the UCL finals in three of the last seven editions, and they can’t be underestimated this season with how well they are playing and how much experience they have.
2 (67%)
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We will start our UCL 24/25 betting tips with the offer to bet on Real Madrid to win the title. Los Blancos have the most experience in the Champions League, and they always perform at their highest level in this competition. The addition of Kylian Mbappe to the team will be deadly after he gets more chemistry with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham. Real Madrid didn’t win six of the last 11 UCL editions by luck, as winning the Champions League trophy is always the priority for the club.
1 (33%)
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The UCL 24/25 betting odds for Bayer Leverkusen to win the title are really enticing. The Black and Reds set the record last season for the longest undefeated run, as they didn’t have any losses for 51 consecutive matches in all competitions. Leverkusen have also won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and the DFL-Supercup in the last few months, so they are in great form and managed to keep most of their players from last season. B04 will be eager to replicate this success in the Champions League as well, so there is a lot of value in them with such high odds.
3 (100%)
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Bayern Munich have a very balanced UCL draw that is easier than some of the big teams’ like Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Arsenal, who have a tough draw this season. The Bavarians are almost guaranteed to finish inside the top-8 teams, and they will have decent chances of finishing on top of the league stage. They just need to take points from their two tough games, against Barcelona and PSG, grabbing maximum from the rest of the clashes.
Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, and Serge Gnabry have all looked sharp at the start of the season so far. The squad depth in Bayern is unreal, with players like Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller, Konrad Laimer, and Joao Palhinha all coming on from the bench in the second half.
3 (100%)
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If you want to bet on league stage 2024 UCL, then this is one of the safest picks with decent odds. The Blaugrana have started the season very well, having won all four of their La Liga games so far, including wins over Athletic Bilbao and Valencia. Barcelona odds are finally looking good as the team looks strong again under Hansi Flick, as most of their young players are performing well right now. The Blaugrana will have tough games with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but the other six matches are all winnable for the team, so they are expected to finish in the top eight by the end of the league phase.
3 (100%)
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Erling Haaland is about to join the top 10 on the UCL all-time best scorers list, as he is only seven goals away from the top-10 players despite being only 24 years old. The Norwegian striker finished as the Champions League top scorer in the 2022/23 season with Man City after scoring 12 goals, while his closest rival had only eight goals in that edition. Haaland has started the Premier League season with seven goals in the first three games, and he is in exceptional form right now.
There are many good teams in the UCL this year, but we will be going with Real Madrid defending their title once again. Make sure to use our UCL 2024/25 League Stage predictions as well, betting on them at the best betting sites in Europe to have more fun watching the event.
