After a brilliant season last time out that saw Aston Villa finish fourth in the Premier League, Unai Emery's side are gearing up for a second successive season in European competition. This time however they are dining at the top table amongst Europe's elite as they have qualified for the UEFA Champions League.
Next season's competition will look very different to before with a change of format and now UEFA have provided more information regarding the draw that will take place towards the end of August.
The draw will be an exciting day for Villa fans as they discover the eight teams they will face in the initial league phase of the competition. In years gone by teams have been put into a group of four with the top two qualifying for the knockout phase, meaning teams play an initial six matches. Now, with the change of format, each team will play an initial eight matches against teams from different pots. Aston Villa are likely to be in pot four as the pots are ranked by how often/present clubs play in the UEFA Champions League.
The draw will look like this, as described by Villa journalist John Townley.
The UCL draw will see automated software assign each of the 36 clubs with eight opponents, starting with the Pot 1 teams and continuing in descending order.
— John Townley (@johntownley11) July 31, 2024
Teams can't face opponents from their league and can be drawn against a max of two sides from the same country.#AVFC
One of the worries that Villa fans had with the change in format was the possibiltiy there would be a greater chance they would be drawn against a fellow Premier League team. However, UEFA have confirmed that teams cannot play other teams from the same nation and can only play a maximum of two teams from one country. For example, Aston Villa cannot be drawn to play Manchester City but could be drawn to play Real Madrid and Sevilla. The location of each fixture (home or away) will be decided by a computer assistant.
This news will be most welcome to Villa fans looking to visit new stadiums as part of their European adventure and perhaps could provide them with a better chance of success.
As part of the new 36 team league format, teams that finish 1st to 8th after the conclusion of the first eight league fixtures will automatically qualify for the knockout phase. Teams that finish 9th to 24th will have to face another side in a knockout play-off round and those that finish 25th to 36th are eliminate from all European competition. There will be no drop into the Europa League like in previous years.
The UEFA Champions League draw for the 2024/25 season takes place on Thursday 29th August with next season's final taking place at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. Buy your plane tickets now, Villa fans!
UTV