The Champions League will get again beneath manner this week for a second season in its new format.
After greater than three a long time of 32 groups throughout eight teams, a second marketing campaign of 36 groups in a single league section will see its first video games happen throughout the approaching days.
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Six English golf equipment characteristic on this season’s league section, having benefitted from successful of the 2 further locations obtainable final season and with Tottenham successful final season’s Europa League.
Here’s what the primary season of the league section taught us about this new Champions League format.
Does successful the league section assist?
Paris St-Germain received their first Champions League trophy final season, regardless of ending fifteenth within the 36-team league section [Getty Images]
On paper, successful the league section ought to considerably assist groups get a extra beneficial tie within the spherical of 16 and past.
Profitable the league section means a spherical of 16 match in opposition to the crew that completed both fifteenth or sixteenth within the league section.
Final season’s league section winners Liverpool didn’t get the rub of the inexperienced and had been knocked out of their first knockout spherical match.
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Arne Slot’s aspect had been drawn in opposition to Paris St-Germain, who completed fifteenth within the league section, and needed to overcome fellow French aspect Brest in a knockout spherical play-off – which PSG received 10-0 on combination.
PSG then beat Liverpool on penalties after a 1-1 draw on combination, with the French aspect happening to win the competitors, following victory over Aston Villa, Arsenal and Inter Milan within the closing three rounds.
Making the highest eight – a assist or hindrance?
Ending within the high eight means skipping the knockout spherical play-off and giving these groups a spot straight within the spherical of 16.
Solely half of the highest eight reached the quarter finals, and solely three progressed into the semi-finals, with Atletico Madrid, Lille, Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool all falling on the first hurdle.
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These 4 groups had been overwhelmed by Actual Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and PSG, 4 golf equipment who realistically may and may have completed within the high eight.
Whereas it’s a small pattern measurement of 1 season’s outcomes, a high eight end solely at the moment represents a 50% probability of reaching the quarter-finals.
Are English groups dominating?
Arsenal had been the one English crew to achieve the Champions League semi-finals final season [Getty Images]
As a nation, there was no overriding dominant pressure from England final yr within the competitors.
Final season, 4 English groups featured within the league section. Germany and Italy had been the one nations with greater than England at 5 every, resulting from their golf equipment’ efficiency in European competitions through the 2023-24 marketing campaign.
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Arsenal had been England’s finest performers, reaching the semi-finals after knocking out Actual Madrid within the quarter-finals.
Groups from England, Italy, France and Spain reached the final 4.
Within the league section, England had been the best-performing nation with three golf equipment within the high eight. Spain had been the following finest with two.
Regardless of having 5 groups in it, Germany misplaced two within the league section, with Spain and Italy additionally dropping one every.
With six English groups on this season’s marketing campaign and 4 within the high 10 of Uefa’s membership rankings, English groups will count on to dominate greater than they did final time period.
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Are there extra or fewer useless rubbers?
Going into the ultimate spherical of league section matches final season, solely two groups had been assured a spot within the high 16 of the league section, which means both a spot straight into the spherical of 16, or a seeded spot within the knockout play-off spherical.
Within the earlier marketing campaign, the final season of group phases that feed straight into the spherical of 16, 13 of the 16 locations had been determined had been confirmed previous to the ultimate spherical of matches.
Nevertheless, of the 26 groups two misplaced all eight league section matches and 10 picked up lower than one level per match.
What number of factors are wanted for the highest eight and high 24?
With solely eight rounds of league section video games, the margins for error are minimal.
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Final season, all the high eight groups completed with 16 or extra factors in complete – successfully two factors or extra per sport.
Excluding Dinamo Zagreb, whose -7 aim distinction proved to be to their detriment, all groups with between 11 and 15 factors completed between ninth and twenty fourth, sufficient for a knockout play-off spherical place.
This text is the newest from BBC Sport’s crew.
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