Zhan Jun: The “Swiss System” of the New Season’s Champions League Increases Many Clashes Between Top Teams, Testing Squad Depth More Than Ever

At 0:00 on the morning of August 30th, the draw ceremony for the 2023/24 season of the UEFA Champions League, held in Monaco, has concluded. This is also the first time since the reform of the Champions League in 1992 that the league stage will be conducted in a “Swiss System” format instead of the traditional group stage.

Famous football commentator Zhan Jun stated: “The ‘Swiss System’ format of the new season’s Champions League increases many clashes between top teams in the ranking matches, raising the level of attention compared to the previous group stages. Of course, it puts more strain on the teams and tests the squad depth of the big clubs more than ever when they are competing on multiple fronts.”

Zhan Jun added: “Personally, I think Paris Saint-Germain’s opponents are the strongest, making it somewhat difficult for them to rank among the top eight in the ranking matches; however, their advantage lies in the relatively low pressure from domestic competitions. Barcelona’s midfield issues are quite a headache, and their ranking might fluctuate between eighth and ninth. Liverpool also faces tough challenges one after another, and perhaps the Liverpool fans hope that the best scenario would be to face the ‘Champions League Kings’ – Real Madrid – right in the first match, as Ancelotti still needs time to better integrate Mbappe into the team. Manchester City should have a good chance of securing a top position in the ranking matches. Arsenal’s defense is the most solid, and it feels like the difficulty level is similar to playing in the group stages in previous years. The 1982 Champions League winners Villa excel at home games, and they should have a good chance of ranking within the top 24 in the league stage.”