New Champions League format draw- Whom will the Premier League clubs be facing in the group stage?

The Champions League returns this year with a radically different format, one that sees each team play EIGHT group games. The 8 will be split into four home games and four away ones, but you don’t play the same team home and away- instead there are 8 different group opponents.

The group stage in 24/25 has 36 teams this year (up from 32 in previous years), and the table will be one big, combined log. Teams that finish 1-8 will directly progress to the knockout stages, while 9-24 will face each other in a playoff. 25-36 will be eliminated from Europe altogether (no EL for them)

Premier League opponents in UCL this year (2024/2025)

Man City (Home): Inter, Brugge, Feyenoord, Sparta
Man City (Away): PSG, Juventus, Sporting Lisbon, Slovan Bratislava

Liverpool (Home): Real Madrid, Leverkusen, Lille, Bologna
Liverpool (Away): Leipzig, AC Milan, PSV, Girona

Arsenal (Home): PSG, Shakhtar, Dinamo Zagreb, Monaco
Arsenal (Away): Inter, Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon, Girona

Liverpool appear to have the toughest draw on paper, although City have some tricky fixtures away from home. Arsenal have a very winnable fixture list.

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Lee Carsley’s first England squad 2024- What are the changes from Southgate’s Euro 2024 one?

New interim England manager Lee Carsley has announced his first Three Lions squad for their upcoming fixtures against Ireland and Finland. There are quite a few changes from England’s last squad- the Euro 2024 one by Gareth Southgate, which reached the finals of the Championships before losing to Spain.

Out from England Euro 2024 squad: Aaron Ramsdale, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw, Jude Bellingham, Kieran Trippier, Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Ivan Toney, Adam Wharton

Note- out includes retired/injured/not selected

New names/inclusions in Carsley squad not present in Euro roster: Nick Pope, Levi Colwill, Toni Livramento, Rico Lewis, Harry Maguire, Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jack Grealish and Noni Madueke

First ever England call-ups for Gomes, Gibbs-White, Livramento and Madueke.

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Referee announced for Chelsea vs Crystal Palace- Same one who was in charge of epic 4-3 game v Man Utd

The referee for Chelsea’s weekend clash against Crystal Palace has been officially announced as Jarred Gillett. The 37-year-old Australian was in charge of Arsenal’s 2-0 opening day win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and was also the man in the middle for the Community Shield clash between Man Utd and Man City earlier this month- a fixture the Citizens won on penalties.

Blues fans will remember him as the ref for their epic league clash against Manchester United last season- a seven goal thriller that the hosts won after Cole Palmer scored in the 100th and 101st minutes.

Chelsea have a pretty decent record under Gillett as referee- they’ve lost only once in 7 games with him in charge.

Jarred Gillett Referee

CFC games with Jarred Gillett as referee

Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd (2023/24)
Brentford 2-2 Chelsea (2023/24)

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