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The main differences of the new Champions League format

The Champions League is the most prestigious club tournament not only in Europe but also in the whole world. It is a confrontation of the top teams of the Old World and it is quite difficult to get into the 32 selected teams.

For fans to bet on soccer in the Champions League came as a surprise the appearance of a new format of everyone's favorite tournament. Not all fans were able to understand the innovations. Even among the experts, many did not understand this format hoping to understand everything in the course of the tournament. But for bettors, it is important to understand everything before the start of the matches to correctly build their football tips prediction for the matches.

Features of the new format

When fans used to make correct score predictions on soccer they counted on the participation of 32 teams in the tournament. From the current year, 4 more teams will be added. In addition to this:

• there will be no division into groups;
• there will be a common table;
• teams will play on the same week;
• teams will play 2 more matches in the main stage;
• teams knocked out of the Champions League in the main stage will stop participating in the Eurocups.

Thus, the tournament will be significantly changed. It is still unclear how fans will react to these changes. But the presence of more matches and the overall table was mostly positively received.

Who got more seats in the Champions League?

Visitors to xGscore.io level platforms notice that the number of participants has increased this season. It is important to understand who are the 4 lucky ones who can more easily get spots in the new Champions League format. The presence of teams in this tournament will allow them to significantly fill their budget. Therefore, the fight for such places will be even more active.

So, 4 additional places will be awarded to:

• the third team of the association, occupying the fifth place in the UEFA ranking;
• the winner of the national championship through the Champions pathway (previously 4 teams received places in the tournament through this pathway, now their number has been increased to 5);
• the teams with the highest club rankings who could not qualify directly for the Champions League, but have secured places in the Europa League or the Conference League (2 teams in total).

In this way, UEFA motivates teams to earn as many points as possible in the Euro Arena to qualify for the additional 4 places in the tournament.

Features of the main round of the tournament

When the lineup of teams in the tournament is formed, the draw is made. As before, the teams are divided into 4 baskets, but:

• each team must play 2 teams from each basket;
• there will be only 1 match between the teams;
• each participant will play 4 home matches and the same number of away matches;
• no teams from the same country may overlap;
• all results will be added to the overall standings;
• 3 points for a win;
• 1 point for a draw;
• no points will be awarded for a defeat.

After the 1/8th round, the teams will be divided into 3 sectors. The first 8 teams will directly enter 1/8 of the tournament. Teams from 9 to 24 will play in the knockout matches for the right to enter the 1/8 finals. In this case, the teams from 9 to 16 places will not meet each other (will be seeded. Teams that will occupy places from 25 and below will be eliminated from the European Cup. Thus, there will be no transition between the Champions League and Europa League.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Champions League has undergone significant changes this year. It is still unclear how fans and players will perceive them. But in general, neither the top clubs nor the teams that have qualified for the tournament have been indignant about it. Fans and bettors are looking forward to the start of the tournament to understand all its advantages and disadvantages.