Barcelona are set to enter Pot 1 for the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League group stage draw after AS Roma confirmed they will not take part in the competition.
Atalanta needed to finish fifth in Serie A to qualify for the Champions League, but despite losing to sixth-placed Roma, Atalanta secured a top-four spot with a 3-0 win at home to Torino on Sunday. Roma will take their place in the Europa League.
Had Atalanta finished fifth, they would have qualified for the Champions League as Europa League title holders, while the extra spot the Italians earned due to the club’s performance in Europe this season would have taken them to sixth. Instead, the extra spot goes to Bologna, the team that finished fifth.
Had the Bundesliga side avoided defeat in the Europa League final, Barcelona could have lost Pot 1 qualification to Bayer Leverkusen, but lost 3-0 to Atalanta.
Since Atalanta will not take advantage of the title holder’s place, Benfica will be promoted directly to the vacant place in the group stage as the club with the best coefficient in the qualifying round. If Real Madrid wins the Champions League, Shakhtar Donetsk won’t have to qualify either.
In the new format starting next season, only Champions League holders will qualify for Pot 1, with all other rankings being determined by coefficient. However, seeding in pots is now limited as each team is drawn against two clubs from four pots to make the eight fixtures. This means there is no disruption to teams in Pot 1 playing each other.
– New Champions League format explained
The Champions League is expanding from 32 to 36 teams, all placed in one league table. A total of 8 games will be played, 4 home and 4 away. Teams from the same country must be spaced apart, but leagues of four or more teams may have to play other teams from the same association if a stalemate occurs in a draw.
This new system offers so many alternatives that most draws are completed by computers. Teams are drawn in the traditional way from Pot 1 and the process of selecting opponents for that club is automatic.
The top eight will advance directly to the round of 16, places 8-24 will play in two knockout playoff rounds, and places 25-36 will be eliminated. There is no longer a drop down to the Europa League.
The group stage draw will take place on Thursday 29 August.
pot 1
city of manchester
bayern munich
Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain
Liverpool
international
Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig
Barcelona
pot 2
Bayer Leverkusen
atletico madrid
Juventus
atalanta
benfica
arsenal
Club Brugge (*depending on securing the Belgian title on Sunday)
Rangers (must pass qualifying)
Shakhtar Donetsk (must pass qualifying)
Pot 4 is likely to be the destination for Celtic, AS Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona and Brest.
