New Delhi: UEFA Champions League returns with matchday seven as the competition resumes action for the first time in 2025. Revamped with a new format where 36 teams participate with each team playing eight games in the league phase, with all teams being ranked. Based on this, the top eight teams qualify directly to the round of 16.
From ninth to 16th teams will be playing a seeded knockout phase play-off while teams from 17th to 24th will be playing an unseeded knockout phase play-off. The teams from 25 will eliminated from the tournament and unlike previous editions, these teams won’t be relegated to another European championship like the Europa Cup.
At the end of matchday 6th, it was Liverpool who were at the top of the table winning all six of their games in the competition with Barcelona following them closely three points behind with five wins and one loss in the tournament. Defending champions Real Madrid are dangerously close to elimination as they sit just three points above the 25th place.
Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen (1:30 AM IST January 22nd)
Atletico Madrid were on a remarkable 15-game winning streak across competitions which was sadly paused on Saturday in the La Liga by the 15th-placed Leganes. They are still at the top of the table in the Spanish top flight but in the Champions League, they have a job in hand as they are placed 11th in the competition. They have won thrice and lost twice, and they are just one point behind Lille’s eighth-place standing. They will be confident having won 17 of their 25 home games in Europe against German teams. They have won the last seven of their eight Champions League home fixtures.
Bayer Leverkusen are currently third in the competition, with four wins, one draw and one loss. The defending Bundesliga champions have been unbeaten in their last 13 games across competitions, winning 12 consecutive games. The German side comes to the fixture on the back of a 3-1 win against Borussia Monchengladbach in Bundesliga. However, they have won just thrice in their last 21 away games against a Spanish team and have failed to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League since 2016-17.
Benfica vs Barcelona (1:30 AM IST January 22nd)
Benfica are just three points behind Lille to enter directly into the knockout stage of the tournament. They have been on a good run with a four-game winning streak, which includes a 4-0 win over Famalicao in the top-tier of Portugal football last week. They have won twice in their nine games against Barcelona which includes their 1961 win in the final of the European Cup. Since then they have won only once with a 3-0 win in the 2021-22 edition of the Champions League.
Barcelona though have lost some of their steam in La Liga, sitting third in the table, but they have still enjoyed a good season. They recently lifted the Spanish Super Cup and are placed second in the Champions League, behind Liverpool, having lost only their first game of the season in the competition. Blaugrana are in a great place to qualify for the knockout stage and hence a win in this game is crucial. In their away games against the Portuguese side, they have won six times, drawn thrice and lost five in 14 games.
Other fixture from Matchday 7
| Game | Date | Time (IST) |
| Monaco vs. Aston Villa | January 21st | 11:15 PM |
| Atalanta vs. Sturm Graz | January 21st | 11:15 PM |
| Crvena Zvezda vs. PSV | January 22nd | 1:30 AM |
| Liverpool vs. Lille | January 22nd | 1:30 AM |
| Club Brugge vs. Juventus | January 22nd | 1:30 AM |
| Slovan Bratislava vs. Stuttgart | January 22nd | 1:30 AM |
| Bologna vs. Borussia Dortmund | January 22nd | 1:30 AM |
| RB Leipzig vs. Sporting Lisbon | January 22nd | 11:15 PM |
| Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Brest | January 22nd | 11:15 PM |
| Sparta Praha vs. Inter | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
| Feyenoord vs. Bayern Munich | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
| Arsenal vs. Dinamo Zagreb | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
| AC Milan vs. Girona | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
| Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester City | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
| Real Madrid vs. RB Salzburg | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
| Celtic vs. Young Boys | January 23rd | 1:30 AM |
Where to watch the UEFA Champions League 2024-25?
Matchday 7 is here 👊#UCL pic.twitter.com/EEywxBbpoq
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 21, 2025
UEFA Champions League games will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network in India. The matches will shown live on Sony Sports Ten 1,2,3 and 5 on SD and HD. The match will also be streamed exclusively on SonyLIV and on Sony website
As UEFA Champions League gameweek seven approaches, here’s a look at the the key fixtures as the competition returns after a long gap and where to watch. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
