The 2024/25 Champions League campaign is set to be wildly different to anything that has come before.
In an attempt to spruce up the early rounds of Europe's premier continental competition, UEFA have overhauled the group stage, with next season's Champions League set to be the largest ever.
With four extra teams in the competition, the Premier League could see five clubs make it into the tournament, rather than the usual four. However, it's no guarantee just yet.
Let's take a closer look at the Champions League's new format and how five English top-flight clubs can qualify in 2024/25.
The new 2024/25 Champions League format
This season will be the last in which supporters can enjoy the traditional group stage phase that the Champions League has implemented uninterrupted since 2003. There will no longer be eight groups of four teams, with the competition expanded to include 36 clubs from 2024/25 onwards.
Instead of a group stage, all 36 sides will be placed into a league system. Within that league, each club will play eight matches - four home and four away - against eight different teams.
All 36 teams will be seeded based on UEFA rankings and sorted into four separate pots, with each club facing two other teams from each pot - one home and one away. So, hypothetically, if a team is in pot one, they will play two games against two different teams from pot one, two, three and four in a total of eight games in the league phase.
According to UEFA's official website: "This gives the opportunity for clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents and raises the prospect for fans of seeing the top teams go head to head more often and earlier in the competition. It will also result in more competitive matches for every club across the board."
How do teams qualify for the knockout stages of the 2024/25 Champions League?
This is where things get even more complicated. In the 2024/25 campaign, due to there being four more teams in the competition, there will be different methods to qualify for the knockout phase of the Champions League.
With a maximum of 24 points to play for, the top eight teams in the league will automatically qualify for the last 16. However, teams placed ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged play-off, the winners of each tie progressing to the next round.
Teams placed ninth to 16th will be drawn against teams placed 17th to 24th. The eight winners of each tie will then face the eight automatic qualifiers from the league phase in the last 16.
From the last 16 onwards, the competition will continue in its current format.
How can five Premier League teams qualify for the 2024/25 Champions League?
As is the case this year, the top four in the Premier League will gain automatic qualification to the Champions League in the 2024/25 season. However, there is a chance that figure will increase to five next campaign.
The two countries with the best UEFA coefficient will get an extra spot in the Champions League. That coefficient is decided by the performances of clubs from that nation in European competition, with the final figure taken as the average of the total points accrued from all clubs.
So, if England's representatives are one of the two European countries with the highest coefficient, the fifth-placed Premier League team in the 2023/24 campaign will qualify for next season's Champions League.
In six of the past seven seasons, England have been one of the two countries with the best coefficient, only failing to register in the top two during the 2019/20 season. Put simply, there is a pretty good chance that the Premier League is awarded a fifth spot.
However, it's not guaranteed and depends on the performances of the eight Premier League sides across all three European competitions this season; Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Brighton, Aston Villa and West Ham United.
If those from England's top flight struggle to make a dent in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, the Premier League could be leapfrogged in the coefficient table.
It may not be clear until the end of the season whether England will boast one of the top two coefficients, so teams should still be putting in the extra work to ensure they make the top four in the Premier League.
What is the maximum number of Premier League clubs that can qualify for the 2024/25 Champions League?
At present, it would technically be possible for seven Premier League clubs to play in the Champions League, with UEFA yet to decide on a cap for the number of teams from a single nation in the new-look competition. However, it would be highly unlikely.
For example, if Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United qualified by finishing in the top five of the Premier League, with Newcastle United winning the Champions League and Brighton winning the Europa League, then all seven aforementioned sides would qualify for next season's Champions League.
