Champions League Showdown: Liverpool vs. Real Madrid in New Format

The revamped 36-team Champions League format has thrown up a mouthwatering clash in the group stage, with Liverpool set to host Real Madrid at Anfield. This fixture promises to be a repeat of the 2022 final, where Real Madrid emerged victorious.

Another intriguing encounter sees Barcelona manager Hansi Flick return to Germany to face his former club, Bayern Munich. It will be the third time these two sides have met in the competition in the last four seasons, with Bayern boasting a dominant record, including an 8-2 quarter-final win en route to their 2020 Champions League triumph under Flick.

The draw, conducted by a combination of Gianluigi Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo, and UEFA's supercomputer, also features several other heavyweight clashes. Manchester City will take on Paris Saint-Germain, while Borussia Dortmund are set to renew their rivalry with Real Madrid.

Arsenal have managed to avoid the toughest teams from Pot 1, instead drawing PSG and Inter Milan. Aston Villa will face Bayern Munich for the first time since their 1982 European Cup final victory over the Bundesliga giants.

Liverpool's clash with Real Madrid is made even more intriguing by the presence of former Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso, who will be leading his Bayer Leverkusen side to Anfield. Alonso was heavily linked with the manager's role at Liverpool following Jürgen Klopp's resignation in January.

Under the new format, each team will play eight group stage matches – two more than in previous seasons – before the knockout rounds. The final round of group stage fixtures will take place on 29 January.

Each team was drawn against eight different opponents, with four home and four away matches, two from each of the four seeded pots. Teams from the same league could not be drawn against each other, and a club can play no more than two teams from one country.

The top eight teams will progress directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th will compete in a knockout playoff stage, while the bottom 12 teams will be eliminated.

The dates, times, and order of each team's fixtures will be announced on Saturday.

Champions League Group Stage Draw:

Manchester City: Inter Milan (H), PSG (A), Club Bruges (H), Juventus (A), Feyenoord (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Sparta Prague (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).

Arsenal: PSG (H), Inter Milan (A), Shakhtar Donetsk (H), Atalanta (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Sporting Lisbon (A), Monaco (H), Girona (A).

Liverpool: Real Madrid (H), Leipzig (A), Bayer Leverkusen (H), AC Milan (A), Lille (H), PSV (A), Bologna (H), Girona (A).

Aston Villa: Bayern Munich (H), RB Leipzig (A), Juventus (H), Club Bruges (A), Celtic (H), Young Boys (A), Bologna (H), Monaco (A).

Real Madrid: Dortmund (H), Liverpool (A), Milan (H), Atalanta (A), Salzburg (H), Lille (A), Stuttgart (H), Brest (A).

Barcelona: Bayern (H) and Dortmund (A) Atalanta (H), Benfica (A), Young Boys (H), Red Star (A), Brest (H), Monaco (A).

Atlético Madrid: Leipzig (H), PSG (A), Leverkusen (H), Benfica (A), Lille (H), Salzburg (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Sparta Prague (A).

Bayern Munich: PSG (H), Barcelona (A), Benfica (H), Shakhtar Donetsk (A), Dinamo Zagreb (H), Feyenoord (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Aston Villa (A).

Bayer Leverkusen: Inter Milan (H), Liverpool (A), Atlético (A), AC Milan (H), Salzburg (H), Feyenoord (A), Sparta Prague (H), Brest (A).

Borussia Dortmund: Barcelona (H), Real Madrid (A), Shakhtar (H), Brugge (A), Celtic (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Sturm Graz (H), Bologna (A).

Inter Milan: RB Leipzig (H), Arsenal (H), Leverkusen (A), Red Star (H), Young Boys (A), Monaco (H), Sparta Prague (A).

AC Milan: Liverpool (H), Real Madrid (A), Club Brugge (H), Leverkusen (A), Red Star (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Girona (H), Slovan Bratislava (A).

Juventus: Man City (H), Leipzig (A), Benfica (H), Club Brugge (A), PSV (H), Lille (A), Stuttgart (H) Aston Villa (A).

Paris Saint-Germain: Man City (H), Bayern (A), Atlético (H), Arsenal (A), PSV (H), Salzburg (A), Girona (H), Stuttgart (A).

Celtic: RB Leipzig (H), Dortmund (A), Club Brugge (H), Atalanta (A), Young Boys (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Slovan Bratislava (H), Aston Villa (A).