We are getting close to starting the next edition of the UEFA Champions League proper, which will be the first one under the innovative format that's been in preparation for a while now. And one of the big talking points will be the Champions League pots, and what they mean for the sides involved.
Unlike the previous format where 32 teams played in eight groups, this new system will place all 36 teams into one league, with each team playing eight games in the group stage.
However, before we get to the games, first up is the league phase draw, scheduled for Thursday, 29 August at 17:00 BST. Keep reading to learn all about the way the teams are drawn, how they are seeded, and more.
Champions League pots 24/25 – Key information
The teams are separated into four nine-team pots based on their seeding, and each team will play against two teams from each of these four pots.
The top eight teams in the group stage will secure a place in the Round of 16, while the next 16 teams will meet in a playoff round for the remaining eight places in the Round of 16.
Of course, there are some further stipulations for the draw, like teams not being able to meet others from the same country, or playing opponents from the same country more than twice.
Now, let's take a look at the Champions league pots and the complete seeding list, with teams seeded based on their UEFA coefficient.
Seedings list
How does the UCL league phase seeding system work?
As you can see, there are nine spots in Pot 1, which is reserved for the best teams in Europe across recent years. The only team that is automatically granted a place in Pot 1 are the winners of the previous Champions League edition, in this case Real Madrid. After that, the teams are ranked based on their UEFA coefficient.
What is a UEFA coefficient?
There are two types of UEFA coefficients, national and club.
In this case, national coefficients determine the number of Champions League spots available to teams from a particular country, while club coefficients determine which pot a team goes into when entering the league phase draw for any of UEFA's three main club competitions.
Club-level coefficient scores are calculated in two different ways:
- The sum of all points won over the previous five years
- The national coefficient over the same period.
Whichever of the two values is higher will count as that club's coefficient in league phase draws.
Which teams are in Pot 1?
- Real Madrid (UCL holders) – Real Madrid not only won La Liga in 2023/24 but also lifted the Champions League back in June. They are again the favourites to win the UCL, having won the trophy an unmatched 15 times before.
- Manchester City – Winners of the Premier League four times in a row and a team that won their first Champions League in 2023.
- Bayern Munich – While they lost their Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen after being the champions for 11 years in a row, they remain one of the best teams in Europe, and they won the UCL title (their sixth-ever) as recently as 2020.
- Paris Saint-Germain – Though they are one of only two teams in Pot 1 never to lift the Champions League trophy before, the French champions did reach the final in 2020 and are always in the latter stages of the competition.
- Liverpool – Liverpool are six-time European champions, and last lifted club football's greatest trophy in 2019, though they also made the final in 2018 and 2022.
- Inter Milan – The reigning champions of Serie A and three-time European Cup / UCL winners. Their last UCL title was in 2010 as part of a historic treble, though they did make the final in 2023.
- Borussia Dortmund – Last season's UCL finalists and winners in 1997. They finished fifth in the Bundesliga last term, but good results in Europe secured them a place in Pot 1.
- RB Leipzig – The third German team in Pot 1. They are the only other team next to PSG in Pot 1 to never win the Champions League, and the only team in that category to never reach the final.
- Barcelona – They narrowly edged Bayer Leverkusen for the final spot in Pot 1. Barcelona are five-time European champions, but their last UCL title (and appearance in the final) came nearly a decade ago, in 2015.
What are the advantages of being in Pot 1?
In practice, the presence of Pot 1 as part of the seeding system prevents too many stronger teams from facing each other in the league phase.
This advantage was all but granted to the top teams in the previous format as well. But there is a difference this time, as the top-seeded teams in previous Champions League editions (those in Pot 1) couldn't meet in the group stages.
Under the new format, they will have to play teams from the same pot twice in the new ‘league phase', making it more interesting for the fans and a bit harder than it used to be for the best teams to get far.
