Expanded Champions League Set For Big Kick-Off

A new era in European club football begins this week when the first games are played in the expanded Champions League amid curiosity about the rejigged format as well as growing concerns over an ever-increasing number of matches. UEFA, the European game's governing body, sensed the need for change at a time when the traditional group stage was becoming more predictable and the continent's biggest clubs were threatening to break away and form their own Super League. The result is a league phase featuring 36 clubs -- four more teams than in the past -- with everyone playing eight matches against eight different opponents, two more games than previously.

The action starts in earnest on Tuesday, when reigning champions Real Madrid begin their quest for a record-extending 16th title with a home game against VfB Stuttgart, the surprise runners-up in last season's German Bundesliga.

That will be the first ever meeting of the sides, while the same night AC Milan host Liverpool in a heavyweight clash between clubs with 13 European Cups between them.

On Wednesday, Manchester City play Inter Milan in a repeat of the 2023 final won by Pep Guardiola's team.

For one week only, Champions League matches will also be played on Thursday and the line-up will include a glamour tie between Monaco and Barcelona.

The expanded competition also has room for a meeting of two historic names when former champions Red Star Belgrade and Benfica face off in Serbia.

In addition to that, there will be an encounter between French newcomers Brest and Austrian champions Sturm Graz, hardly the kind of tie normally associated with the European elite.

"In the end I think we came to a solution that will benefit all," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told