How the fuck does the new Champions League format work? We’ll try our best to clear it up. And stick with us Chelsea fans, as this league format will be rolled out across all European tournaments. Even the Conference League classic 32 team group stage we all knew and loved will be replaced by a 36 team league table. Which means Champions League and Europa League sides will now play eight games at this stage instead of the usual six. Something that I’m sure no manager will moan about in a press conference. But for you Chelsea fans that are still actually watching you only play six times in the Conference League, Loenzo Maresca won’t be losing any hair. Well, you know what I mean. Teams in the Champions League and Europa League will be drawn against eight different opponents, playing each team just once. Two teams will be faced from four different seeding pots, one home match and one away. So Aston Villa fans, you could head to the Burnley one week and then host Bayern Munich in the next two very good evenings. Back to the conference league. Teams will face one opponent from six different pots. The top eight teams in the league standings qualify directly to the round of sixteen. Ninth to 24th take part in a playoff round. And if you’re 25th or below, there’s no dropping down to the Europa League or conference league. Your European Tour is over. So don’t worry Man United Fans? No Champions League teams will be dropping down to join you on Thursday nights. Once the league format finishes, the competitions move on to the standard knockout rounds. It’s as simple as that. Are you excited for the new format or do you prefer the old one?