The Champions League is back with a bang tonight, with six games kicking off the 2025-26 edition of the famous competition.
Last year was the first under the new league-table format but there have been tweaks to the rules fans should be aware of.
Following frustration from Arsenal last term, UEFA agreed that increased meaning will be placed on the league stage placings.
The rules now state that teams finishing higher in the league phase get home advantage for the return leg in the knockout stages right up to the last four.
Last season, the eight teams that qualified automatically for the knockout rounds played at home in the second leg in the last-16, but NOT in the quarter-finals or semi-finals.
As a result, Arsenal played the second leg of their quarter-final against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu despite finishing eight positions above the Spanish giants in the league table.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal played PSG away from home in the second leg of their semi-final last season, losing 3-1 on aggregate
Mikel Arteta’s men still managed to progress 5-1 on aggregate after winning both legs.
But they then faced PSG in the second leg of the semi-final away from home and were unable to find a away past the French side, losing 3-1 on aggregate.
Under the rules this season, the Gunners would have had the advantage of a home game second, having finished higher than PSG in the league phase.
If a club knocks out another team that finished higher in the league in the knockout stages, they inherit that positional status.
It means there is more to play for than simply qualifying for the knockouts and every position in the league could count come the latter stage of the tournament next year.
As with last season, all 36 clubs plays eight matches within the league phase, facing eight different opponents: four at home and four away.
Then the teams that finished in the top eight move to the last-16, while those placed 19th to 24th play over two legs to try and qualify while teams placed 25th and below are knocked out.
From then on, the competition moves back into the traditional format and this year’s final will be held in the Puskas Arena, Hungary on May 30.
Bradley Barcola and PSG are out to defend their crown in the final next May
Kick-off in the final has been moved from 8:00pm to 5:00pm to ‘enhance the matchday experience and benefit fans, teams and host cities’.
Two English teams are in action tonight, with Tottenham taking on Villarreal and Arsenal playing Athletic Bilbao away from home.
Chelsea visit Bayern Munich and Liverpool host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday before Man City start their campaign against Napoli and Newcastle play Barcelona, with both games at home for the Premier League sides.
