The 2024/25 Champions League returns this month, with many fans intrigued by the additional teams and new Swiss-style format.
Teams will play eight group stage games between now and January, moving to a 36-team competition that will test the best sides from across the continent and add extra unpredictability to football betting markets.
Defending champions Real Madrid arrive as the pre-tournament favourites, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final 2-0 at Wembley.
However, the new format provides a chance for more underdog stories, such as Chelsea’s win in 2021 or Jose Mourinho’s Porto in 2004.
Indeed, fans will now get to see their teams play a wider array of opponents and visit new stadiums that may have been on their bucket lists, with the Champions League home to some of the best arenas in the sport.
As we gear up for the 2024/25 Champions League season and the return of elite European football, let’s take a look at some of the best stadiums to watch games in throughout the competition’s history.
Munich Football Arena– Bayern Munich
We begin in Germany with Bayern Munich’s state-of-the-art Allianz Arena, known as the Munich Football Arena in UEFA competitions.
The Bavarians have been at the ground since 2005, a period during which they dominated the Bundesliga while also winning the 2013 and 2020 Champions League titles.
The 70,000-capacity ground has provided many special moments, however, it is infamous for Bayern’s defeat to Chelsea on home soil in 2012, where the London club snatched a late draw through Didier Drogba before winning on penalties against the odds.
San Siro – Inter/AC Milan
In Italian football, it is common for two teams to share their stadiums, and perhaps none is better than Milan’s San Siro, a classic piece of Milanese architecture that has hosted multiple Champions League finals.
The ground was set to close this year but has avoided being demolished due to its historical significance, with many people wanting the stadium to remain intact so they can continue to visit the landmark.
Both Milan sides have been successful in Europe and recently met in the 2023 quarter-finals, making it the first Derby della Madonnina in the Champions League since 2005 – this time Inter won 3-0 on aggregate.
Anfield – Liverpool
As Arsene Wenger famously said: “If Liverpool have changed games in Europe, for a big part it’s down to Anfield,”
“For a home game, this is the most heated stadium in Europe in a return game.
It is the only place you don’t want to go.
The atmosphere – everything – is special there.”
Liverpool are the most success European side in England, and while the atmosphere is often criticised throughout Premier League games, something switches when the floodlights are turned on at the Merseyside stadium, making it one of the most intimidating places to play.
In recent years, the likes of Paris Saint Germain and Barcelona have fallen victim to Anfield, with the latter famously beaten 4-0 in one of the best comebacks in Champions League history in 2019.
This season will be the first for Arne Slot at Liverpool, as the Reds return to Europe, hoping they can add a seventh trophy to their cabinet.
Westfalenstadion – Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion – or Signal Iduna Park – is a landmark stadium for any visitor looking to experience European football.
The famous ‘Yellow Wall’ stand, the largest standing area of any stadium on the continent at 25,000-capacity, creates one of the best atmospheres around, with every fan looking to experience a matchday upon the Ballspielverein in Europe.
Having reached last season’s final, new manager Nuri Sahin will be looking to replicate the same success, with Dortmund’s last Champions League win coming over Juventus in 1997.
