The new season with the new 2024/25 Champions League format is about to begin. As every club will play against two teams from the four pots once, we’ll soon see some of the biggest derbies in European club football.
Wondering which 2024-25 Champions League clubs will bring us the biggest spectacle? I wanted to know the answer to the same question. So, I put the biggest titans face to face and realised how fun actually this season will be.
Top 2024-25 Champions League Duels (Rounds 1-4)
The Champions League table 2024/25 features 36 teams from all over Europe. The initial phase encompasses eight rounds, the first of which will begin on 17 September.
The first enormous clash that awaits us is the Milan vs. Liverpool duel. These two teams had unforgettable matches in 2006 and 2007. That’s not all, as the first round also features another English-Italian fixture (Man City vs. Inter). Both the Citizens and Nerazzurri won the title in their domestic leagues in the previous season.
Round two confronts Arsenal and PSG. One of the best English clubs will try to outshine the best team in France. Another big event here is the Bayer Leverkusen vs Milan faceoff.
Round three will feature an encounter between Real Madrid and Dortmund, just as in last season’s finals. Will BVB get its revenge? Barcelona, a team also seeking revenge, will face Bayern Munich. The Catalans lost their last six games to the Bavarians, and their will for this is obvious.
The fourth round may have the largest number of derbies. I say this because Liverpool will play against Leverkusen and Real Madrid will compete against Milan. The same goes for Inter playing versus Arsenal.
Craziest Champions League Fixtures 2024/25 (Rounds 5-8)
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention any teams that joined this tournament via the Champions League qualifiers 2024/25. This is because clashes such as Bayern Munich vs PSG and Liverpool vs Real Madrid are scheduled in Round 5.
It’s interesting to note that both matches include clubs that played against each other in the Champions League finals before. In 2018, Liverpool and Real Madrid had a faceoff in the finals, which ended in Los Blancos’ victory (3:1).
PSG and Bayern Munich fought for the title in 2020. The game was very tough, but the Bavarians eventually prevailed, scoring once and allowing no goals.
In Round 6, Leverkusen will play against the other club from Milano, Inter. Just as Leverkusen will do that, Borussia will face the second-best club from Spain, Barcelona. Finally, Juventus will face the English champions, Manchester City.
The situation for PSG is the same. In other words, the Parisians will have a lot of work to do, as they will also confront City, which is the number one favourite to win this 2024-25 Champions League.