vrnarciso

bringing the total number of teams in the UEFA Champions League from 32 to 36, the biggest change will be the transformation of the traditional group stage to a single league stage that will include all participants. Each club will now be guaranteed a minimum of 10 matches in the league stage against 10 different opponents (five home matches, five away) instead of the previous six matches against three teams, played at home and away. The eight best placed teams from the league stage qualify directly for the knockout stage, while the teams that finish between ninth and 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to guarantee their passage to the round of 16. - end of the competition. Similar format changes will also apply to the UEFA Europa League (8 league stage matches) and the UEFA Europa Conference League (6 league stage matches). Subject to future discussions and agreements, these two competitions can also be expanded to 36 teams each in the league phase.