Defending champions Real Madrid to face Dortmund and Liverpool in revamped Champions League format.

 In the revamped format of Europe's premier club competition, each team will compete in eight matches against eight different opponents, as all 36 clubs are combined into a single league instead of being divided into groups.

Defending champions Real Madrid will travel to face Liverpool and host Borussia Dortmund in the league stage of the revamped Champions League, as announced in Thursday's draw. In this new format, every team will play eight matches against eight different opponents, with all 36 clubs combined into a single league instead of being divided into groups. Since claiming their 15th European Cup title, Madrid has added French superstar Kylian Mbappe to their roster and will also host AC Milan while visiting Atalanta.

Real Madrid recently defeated Atalanta, last season's Europa League winners, in the UEFA Super Cup held in Warsaw earlier this month.

Liverpool returns to the Champions League after a one-season absence and will notably face AC Milan while also going up against tournament newcomers Girona. Fans at Anfield will be particularly excited to host German champions Bayer Leverkusen, managed by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who won the competition in 2023, will face Italian champions Inter Milan at home and will also travel to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. They will additionally compete against less daunting opponents, including Club Brugge, Sparta Prague, and Slovan Bratislava, who have yet to play in the current Champions League format.

Other exciting matchups include Bayern Munich against both PSG and Barcelona, and Arsenal taking on Inter and PSG.

The Champions League has expanded from 32 to 36 clubs, which are divided into four seeded pots of nine for the draw. Each team will play two matches against teams from the four pots, one at home and one away, with the first matches scheduled for September 17, 18, and 19.

The new league phase will include two additional matchdays in January. At the conclusion, the top eight clubs in the 36-team standings will advance directly to the last 16, while those ranked ninth to 24th will compete in a playoff round to determine the final eight teams. The bottom 12 clubs in the league phase will be eliminated without the chance to drop into the Europa League, as was customary in previous formats.

The Europa League and the third-tier Conference League, with draws scheduled for Friday, will also include 36 clubs. However, the Conference League will consist of just six matchdays during its league phase.