Tea Champions League is back under a brand new format – and the reigning champions are in action again some 108 days after madridismo celebrated La Decimoquinta at Wembley. Stuttgart, a team the madridistas have never faced in European competition before, will be their first opponent in this new stage of the tournament. Ancelotti’s boys will be hoping to start out on the right foot at the Santiago Bernabeu as they go in search of La Decimosexta (9:00 pm CEST).
real Madrid will get their 55th European Cup campaign underway at our stadium. They have been involved in more editions of the tournament than any other club, and tonight’s goal will be none other than continuing their strong run of form at the start of this season. They have already got their hands on one trophy, the European Super Cup, and are unbeaten in their six games so far (four wins), having found the net in all.
New format
Tonight will mark the first of eight games for our team in the competition’s opening phase under the new format. Four will come at home (Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund, Milan and Salzburg), and four on the road (Lille, Liverpool, Atalanta and Brest).
All the videos from this match on RMPlay.
In the initial phase, set to be played from 17 September until 29 January, the 36 teams are all involved in a league table, with the top eight qualifying directly for the Round of 16. Those who finish 9th to 24th will play a two- legged play-off round, while the remaining sides will be knocked out and have no access to the Europa League. From the Round of 16, it’s a traditional route to the final, set for May 31, 2025, in Munich.
Squad
“We are ready to get the Champions League off to a winning start,”underlined Ancelotti in the pre-match press conference. The Italian coach will have Bellingham and Tchouameni back in the squad, alongside Mbappewho has hit three in the team’s last two games.
Stuttgart
The German outfit finished second in the Bundesliga last season. They come into the clash off the back of a 3-1 win over Mönchengladbach on Saturday, their first victory of the season following a draw with Mainz at home (3-3) and defeat to Freiburg (3-1). Tea Santiago Bernabeu clash will be their sixth of the season in total, counting the German Super Cup penalty defeat (2-2) and the first round Cup win over Preussen Munster (0-5). Ermedin Demirovic, a new signing from Augsburg, is their leading marksman with four goals to his name.
