The Champions League is back for another season – but there will be a couple of noticeable changes to this year’s competition.
Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will be representing the Premier League this season with a completely revamped format awaiting those four sides ahead of today’s draw.
Each team will face eight different opponents in a new, 36-team league format. Teams will be ranked in four seeded pots and will then be drawn against two opponents from each of these pots. English sides will again be kept apart in this phase of the competition.
At the end of the league format, the top eight will automatically qualify for the last-16, while those ranked ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off for the chance to join them.
The other – and more subtle change – is to do with the iconic Champions League music that has accompanied the tournament since since its rebrand in 1992.
Viewers will be used to the classic anthem playing over television adverts and in stadiums before each match but UEFA officials have decided to tinker with the intro for this season.
That’s because they’ve chosen to return to the ‘orchestral version’ of the original track, a version not heard in 18 years since the 2005/06 season when Barcelona beat Arsenal 2-1 to claim their second Champions League.
Real Madrid go into this season as the tournament’s defending champions after their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley in June.
English hopes, meanwhile, will be spearheaded by Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa, with Unai Emery’s side competing in the competition for the first time since 1983.
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