After a season in the less glamorous Europa League, Liverpool return to Europe’s premier continental competition for 2024/25.

With Arne Slot overseeing his first campaign in charge of the Reds, the Dutch coach will have to navigate a new-look Champions League. England’s record European Cup winners will be keen to claim title number seven in an expanded format, with the group stage having been binned in favour of a league phase with extra matches.

Instead of the usual six games played to qualify for the knockout stages, teams will play eight matches and Liverpool will learn their opponents for the league phase when the draw takes place on Thursday 29 August.

Here is who the Reds could be facing in the 2024/25 Champions League.

There are four pots in the Champions League decided by a team’s UEFA coefficient ranking. Liverpool will play two different teams (one home and one away) from each of the four pots, making seeding for the 2024/25 Champions League less significant than in the competition’s past format.

However, Liverpool do find themselves in Pot 1 for the 2024/25 season, joined by the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. The Reds will still play two sides from Pot 1 during the eight-game league phase this term.

Liverpool can’t play any English side in the league phase – ruling out meetings with Man City, Arsenal and Aston Villa – and can’t face more than two teams from a single nation.

Slot’s side will qualify for the last 16 automatically by finishing as one of the eight best teams in the league phase, which is determined by a basic league table with three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Clubs that finish from 9th-24th will have to play in a two-legged play-off to reach the last 16.

The change in format for the 2024/25 season means Liverpool will not only be playing two more matches than usual, they are guaranteed to come up against some of Europe’s best teams. They are certain to face two teams from Pot 2, with Bundesliga duo Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig perhaps the most favourable sides the Reds could face.

Pot 2 contains some really strong teams but standouts Arsenal aren’t able to face Liverpool in the league phase. However, the Reds could clash with some challenging Italian sides, including the club that knocked the Merseysiders out of the Europa League last season, Atalanta. The likes of Juventus and Milan could be menacing opposition, too.

From Pot 3, there could be a clash between Liverpool and Celtic. There is plenty to link the Reds and the Scottish giants, including ex-Reds boss Brendan Rodgers who is currently coaching the Glasgow side.

Liverpool won’t be overly concerned by any of the sides residing in Pot 4. However, European debutants Girona and Brest would pose Slot’s men a unique challenge.

Based on UEFA coefficient rankings, Liverpool’s toughest possible league phase campaign would see them drawn against reigning champions Real Madrid and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich from Pot 1.

In Pot 2 Liverpool would get an unwanted reunion with former midfielder and managerial target Xabi Alonso and his Bayer Leverkusen side. The Reds would also meet Atletico Madrid, with whom Liverpool have clashed on many occasions in recent Champions League campaigns.

As things stand, Pot 3’s strongest side are Feyenoord, formerly managed by Slot. That would be a tantalising clash for the 45-year-old manager, while Liverpool could also face Sporting CP and previously touted Jurgen Klopp successor Ruben Amorim.

Monaco and Bologna would round off Liverpool’s toughest potential journey to the knockout rounds, although a number of teams are yet to qualify for the league phase of the 2024/25 competition.

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