MANCHESTER UNITED could be drawn against Manchester City in next season’s Champions League group stages.
The two sides will not be able to face each other until the knockout rounds this year due to rules preventing teams from the same country being drawn together.
Sunday TimesMan Utd could meet Man City in the Champions League group stage next season as Uefa plan a major shake-up[/caption]
However, the Champions League is set to undergo a major shake-up from next season with Uefa ready to make major changes to the tournament.
It is set to expand from 32 teams to 36 from the 2024/25 campaign onwards.
The old style of eight groups of four clubs will be gone with a “Swiss model” league table introduced.
Each team will instead be drawn against eight opponents, four to be played at home and four away.
These changes will result in the Premier League having at least four teams in the group stages, with a fifth spot also up for grabs.
The potential fifth Champions League place will be rewarded based on how English clubs perform in this season’s European competitions compared to other top nations.
Uefa will do their best to separate clubs from the same country but any association that has four or five teams in the group stages could see a maximum of two drawn together.
This means that should United and City both qualify for the Champions League next season, fans could be in store for a Manchester derby in the groups.
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Other major changes by Uefa see them scrap “country protection” earlier, now there are no draw restrictions from the play-off round and last 16 onwards.
Additionally, a seeded knockout stage will be implemented.
This means clubs that progress in first and second will not be able to face each other until the final as they will be on opposite sides of the draw.
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