The much-anticipated 2024/25 season of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) will kick off on Tuesday, September 17 in its all-new format, with its 36 teams participating over three days in Gameweek 1.
Here are 5 interesting things to watch out for in Gameweek 1 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.
Clash of the Titans
Due to the new format, the league phase will now see more European heavyweights clash in some mouth-watering encounters, the first of which will be Milan vs Liverpool in Gameweek 1.
This encounter has seen many iconic battles over the years, and this one shall be no different. An unbeaten and in-form Liverpool under new coach Arne Slot will travel to San Siro for this big match-up, while Milan haven’t started their Serie A campaign as well as the Reds with two draws and a loss from their opening three games. However, in games like these, form goes out of the window, and playing at home, the Rossoneri won’t be an easy team to beat.
The other interesting match-ups are reigning Europa League winners Atalanta going up against Arsenal and Atlético Madrid facing Leipzig.
First-timers and clubs returning after a long hiatus
Gameweek 1 will see a first-timer in the Champions League this season.
Brest from Ligue 1 have qualified for the UCL for the first time in their history. They had arguably the most inspiring underdog story last season as they finished an unbelievable third in the table.
The following clubs are making a return to the UCL after a long hiatus:
- Austrian club Sturm Graz are making a return to the UCL league/group stage for the first time since the 2000/01 season.
- Czech champions Sparta Praha mark their return to the Champions League after a hiatus of more than two decades, having last appeared in a UCL league/group stage in the 2003/04 season.
- English side Aston Villa finished fourth in the Premier League last season in an incredible campaign under Unai Emery, thereby earning a UCL berth and returning to Europe’s elite competition after four decades, having even won the European Cup in ’82.
- Villa’s wait, however, pales in comparison to that of Spain’s Girona and Italy’s Bologna. Both sides have had an agonising wait and are going to feature in the UCL for the first time since 1964/65.
Also read: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Sponsors
Former UCL-winning players making their managerial debut
There have been some seasoned campaigners in the Champions League like Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane, and Carlo Ancelotti who won the Champions League both as players and managers.
This season, we have two debutants in Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen) and Thiago Motta (Juventus) who are former Champions League winners as players, and it will be interesting to see how they start their respective Champions League campaigns as managers.
Alonso had a dream season with Leverkusen last term as they went unbeaten in their pursuit of the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, narrowly missing out on a historic treble as his side lost the Europa League final to Atalanta.
Motta, too, had an influential role as his charges led Bologna to a top-five finish in the Serie A, on the back of which Juventus came calling for the 42-year-old.
First-time encounters of Gameweek 1
Since a lot of teams are making their comebacks in the Champions League this season, there are going to be first-time encounters as well.
There are two particular match-ups too look out for here, Juventus vs PSV and Atalanta vs Arsenal. Even though these teams have been part of several UCL campaigns over the years, this is the first time they will face each other in the Champions League.
Other first-time encounters of Gameweek 1
Paris Saint-Germain vs Girona
Feyenoord vs Bayer Leverkusen
Brest vs Sturm Graz
Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Young Boys vs Aston Villa
Unbeaten home records
Having home support on Champions League nights has seen many impossible results and deficits turned around. There are a couple of big teams who have been unbeaten at home for many games now.
Reigning UCL winners Real Madrid are currently 13 games unbeaten at home in the league/group stage with ten wins and three draws. The Galácticos kick off their CL campaign this time round against Stuttgart at home and will want to keep their unbeaten run going.
Premier League title holders Manchester City, meanwhile, have an even more astounding home record in the Champions League and are 31 games unbeaten in the league/group stage. The Cityzens are hosting Inter at home in Gameweek 1 and will find it hard to keep hold of their incredible home record.
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