With this year’s iteration of the Champions League looking dramatically different to last year’s, we’ve taken a look at how things have changed and what Manchester City will need to do to progress.
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00:00This season's Champions League is just about to begin, but before Manchester City kick off next week, we decided it would make sense for us to explain the new format of the competition.
00:08Up until now, the UCL has had a typical group stage, where teams will play three other teams, home and away, to determine who progresses.
00:14Now, all 36, which is up from 32, will compete in a league competition. Teams will play 8 games against 8 different teams, half home and half away.
00:22The teams are separated into seeded groups before the draw, meaning that no one club should have a significantly easier or more difficult schedule than any other.
00:29The top 8 sides in the league will automatically qualify for the round of 16, while those between 9th and 24th will compete in a knockout round.
00:36The argument in favour of these changes is threefold. It will allow for the involvement of more European teams, and fans will get more matches to watch.
00:43It will introduce a better competitive balance between the teams, and it will ensure that each game means even more to teams, with the league table expected to be fairly tight.
00:51The argument against it is that it adds further congestion to an already packed schedule, with some players having complained about that already.
00:56Are you in favour of the changes? Let us know in the comments, and follow Manchester World for more.