Key Champions League dates for Aston Villa fans to look out for

With the transfer window well underway ahead of a very exciting 2024/25 season for Aston Villa that will see them participate in the UEFA Champions League we look at they key dates to get in your diary.

Villa's Premier League fixture list has already been released and all involved with the club are now looking ahead to the season's opener away at West Ham on Saturday 17th August.

Now that fans have started to make plans for the domestic matches they will be keen to have plans in place ahead of the European fixtures being released. The draw for the Champions League next season will take place on Thursday 29th August.

Before looking at the key dates let's take a moment to consider the new Champions League format. Aston Villa have qualified for the competition for the first time in over fourty years and just as they have done so UEFA have decided to make a change to the format. Previously, teams that have qualified are placed into a group with three other teams with the top two from each group progressing to the knockout rounds. Now, the competition will be played as a league format rather than a group format.

Each team will play an initial 8 matches, playing two teams from each of the four pots. Aston Villa are in pot four and will therefore play two teams from pot 1, two from pot 2 etc. This is great for the club to have eight matches guaranteed as opposed to the six that Newcastle had last season before being knocked out at the end of the group stage, which is great for both revenue and fan experience. The dates for these matches are as follows:

Will we see Real Madrid come to Villa Park to take on Unai Emery's Villans, or will the fans get to experience a dream Villa away day at the Bernabeu? Make sure to watch the draw and get plans ready!

UTV