The UEFA Champions League is back and, as we prepare for the second season of the "League Phase" format, it's worth a refresher of how it plays out. Some changes that were made were simple, others were more complicated, and a few might still seem a bit of a mystery until we get to the knockout rounds in February even though we've already had a taste of it. Oh, and there's been a change to the knockouts for this season.

So, what is the new format? How does the draw work? And what will the League Phase look like?

What is the new Champions League format?

Let's start with the basics. Last season marked the first time in 21 years that we'd had a format change for Europe's top club competition. For the previous 21 seasons, 32 teams qualified and were drawn into eight groups of four. The top

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