CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BEGINS BIG NEW ERA

Expanded format to make unpredictable’ competition raises player welfare concerns

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A new era in European club football begins this week when the first games are played in the expanded Champions League amid curiosity about the rejigged format as well as growing concerns over more matches.

Uefa, European football's governing body, sensed the need for change at a time when the traditional group stage was becoming more predictable and the continent's biggest clubs were threatening to break away and form their own Super League.

The result is a league phase featuring 36 clubs - four more teams than in the past with everyone playing eight matches against eight different opponents, two more games than previously.

The action starts on Sept 17, when reigning champions Real Madrid begin their quest for a record-extending 16th title with a home game against Stuttgart, the surprise runners-up in the 202324 German Bundesliga.

That will be the first meeting of the sides, while on the same night, AC Milan host Liverpool in a heavyweight clash between clubs with 13 European Cups between them.

On Sept 18, Manchester City play Inter Milan in a repeat of the 2023 final won by Pep Guardiola's team.