Aston Villa and Liverpool set to be influenced by dramatic UEFA rule change

The formats of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League will dramatically change from the 2024/25 season onwards, UEFA has confirmed.

As the current Premier League top seven, Aston Villa and fellow English sides Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and West Ham United are set to be affected by the UEFA adjustments.

Instead of the 32 qualified teams being drawn into eight groups of four and playing one another twice to proceed to the knockout stage, there will be 36 clubs in a new 'league phase'. It allows four more sides to play in each of Europe's elite competitions and ensures every match provides something to fight for.

Teams will now play eight matches in the new league phase, as opposed to the six seen in groups previously. There will no longer be home and away legs at this stage, with fixtures against eight different teams preferred. Half of those matches will be played at home and half away.

To determine who plays who, all 36 clubs will be ranked in four seeding pots. Each side then draws two opponents from each pot, playing one at home and one away. This is to make things fair and competitive for every team in the respective competitions.

The top eight teams after the eight league phase matches will automatically qualify for the round of 16, while the teams finishing between ninth and 24th will take part in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off. The winners of those matches will then join the top eight in the last 16.

From that point, all three competitions will carry on as they usually would with two-legged affairs deciding the last eight and four ahead of the grand final, played on one day only. Villa, currently in the Premier League top four, will be dreaming of making it far in next season's new-look Champions League.