Key Champions League dates for Aston Villa diaries and final venue confirmed

Aston Villa will be participating in the new look Champions League next season after finishing fourth in the Premier League in 2023-24. Villa secured the final remaining place in Europe's premier competition ahead of the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United and last season's qualifiers Newcastle United.

Villa under Unai Emery, who reached the Europa Conference League semi-final, will hope to make their mark on the continent once again next term, but in far more esteemed company. The new 36-strong competition will involve now one league table, and the top eight will automatically advance to the last 16.

The remaining eight spots will be competed for in a knock-out round over two legs between sides who finish 9th and 24th. The bottom dozen will be eliminated from European competition, with the drop into the Europa League knock-out rounds scrapped. Villa are expected to be in pot four. They'll play eight league matches, against two sides from each of the four pots, one of those fixtures being at home and the other, per pot, being away.

UEFA have since confirmed all the dates that Lions fans can expect to see their side in action on the continent in the new season, which kicks off in August. The Champions League won't commence until September for those sides who have already progressed to the league - including Villa. In the meantime, there'll be qualifying rounds to determine who makes up the table...

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• First qualifying round: 9/10 & 16/17 July 2024

• Second qualifying round: 23/24 & 30/31 July 2024

• Third qualifying round: 6/7 & 13 August 2024

• Play-offs: 20/21 & 27/28 August 2024

Villa will then get going in the middle of September, following the first international break of the new campaign. The first round of the 18 match-week games will take place across three weeknights between Tuesday 17 and Thursday 19 September. From thereon, it'll be Tuesdays and Wednesdays only - until the final match where, as is the case domestically, all 18 matches take place on the same day.

• Matchday 1: 17–19 September 2024

• Matchday 2: 1/2 October 2024

• Matchday 3: 22/23 October 2024

• Matchday 4: 5/6 November 2024

• Matchday 5: 26/27 November 2024

• Matchday 6: 10/11 December 2024

• Matchday 7: 21/22 January 2025

• Matchday 8: 29 January 2025

If Villa progress from the league stage, by finishing in the top 24 sides and at the very least securing a place in the knock-out round play-offs, those fixtures will take place within a couple of weeks of the league phase concluding. The round of 16 - for which the top eight in the league qualify automatically - kick off in March and the quarter finals are in April. The semi-finals are staggered across April and May before the showpiece at the end of May.

• Knockout round play-offs: 11/12 & 18/19 February 2025

• Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025

• Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025

• Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025

• Final: 31 May 2025

Villa will find out who the eight teams they'll be playing against at the very end of August, a couple of weeks after the new Premier League season begins. If they're in the knock-out play-offs, that draw will take place at the end of January. The remainder of the competition will be then decided towards the end of February.

• League phase fixtures: 29 August 2024

• Knockout round play-offs: 31 January 2025

• Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final: 21 February 2025

The final will be held in Munich, for the first time since 2012 when Chelsea beat Bayern Munich dramatically on penalties under former Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo to clinch their first European Cup.

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