Holders Real Madrid to Clash with Dortmund and Liverpool in the Revamped Champions League

Reigning champions Real Madrid have been drawn to face Liverpool in an away fixture and Borussia Dortmund at home in the league stage of the revamped Champions League, in a rematch of last season's final. The draw, conducted on Thursday, saw all 36 teams pooled together into one league instead of being split into groups, with each team set to play eight games against eight different opponents. Madrid, who recently acquired French sensation Kylian Mbappe after claiming their 15th European Cup, will also have matches against AC Milan at home and Atalanta away in the new-look competition.

Real beat last season's Europa League winners Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw earlier this month.

Liverpool, who are back in the Champions League after a one-season absence, will also notably meet Milan and take on tournament debutants Girona.

However, supporters of the Anfield club will perhaps be most excited about the prospect of hosting German champions Bayer Leverkusen, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, winners of the competition in 2023, will play at home to Italian champions Inter Milan and go to both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

However, they were also handed more comfortable opponents including Club Brugge, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava, who have never played in the modern Champions League proper.

Other standout head-to-heads will include Bayern Munich against both PSG and Barcelona, and Arsenal against Inter and Paris.

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The number of clubs in the Champions League has increased from 32 in the past, with the 36 participants split into four seeded pots of nine for the draw.

Every team faces two teams from each of the four pots, one at home and one away. The first matches will be played on September 17, 18 and 19.

The two extra matchdays in the new league phase will take place in January, at the end of which the top eight clubs in the 36-team classification will advance directly to the last 16.

Those ranked between ninth and 24th place will go through to play a play-off round from which will emerge the remaining eight sides advancing to the last 16.

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The bottom 12 in the league phase will be eliminated altogether, with no clubs parachuting down into the Europa League as in the past.

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The Europa League and third-tier Conference League, the draws for which take place on Friday, will also now feature 36 clubs, although the latter competition will involve only six matchdays in the league phase.

(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)