UEFA Leagues 2024-25 Fixture Difficulty: Who Has the Easiest and Toughest League Stage Games?

The new season of UEFA competitions is about to kick off, and the excitement this time around is on a scale we have not seen in a long time.

The new format – called the Swiss model – has people salivating, mostly because no one really knows what to expect.

Football being somewhat unpredictable is nothing new. It is what adds to the excitement of the sport and the main reason why it is widely known that there are really no sure odds.

But this particular brand of unpredictability is a level of thrill that every type of football fan dreams of.

Something about change is exhilarating, especially when the change comes with a promise of more excitement and high-profile clashes.

Recap of New Format

If you have not yet read our breakdown of the new format, here is a summary.

36 teams will play in one big league, unlike the previous format where 32 teams were placed in 8 groups of four each.

This time, there are no groups. Each team plays eight games, with four at home and four away. All teams have unique fixtures, playing two teams each from the four available pots.

There are no home and away fixtures in the league round, you only play a team once, either home or away depending on what is determined at the draws.

Teams who finish 1st to 8th on the league table after the league round will qualify for the round of 16 while teams from 9th to 24th will face off in a playoff round to determine the other 8 teams that will play in the round of 16.

Teams that finish 9th to 16th will play against teams that finish from 17th to 24th. Once the 16 teams are determined, the main knockouts begin, as with the old format.

All three UEFA competitions follow this format, but the UEFA Conference League has 6 matchdays in the league phase unlike the others.

The Standout Fixture

The UCL draw, which saw Gianluigi Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo as the stars of the show, set up some mouth-watering fixtures that had many tongues wagging. 

As with the new format, every team has a unique set of fixtures, with everyone playing two teams each from every pot. Naturally, some teams just have more difficult fixtures than others.

The great thing about this model is that fans get to see many more high-profile games, some of which are already making headlines.

Pot 1 and 2 are filled with some of the biggest teams in the world. Since every team must play two teams from each pot, there is a guarantee that teams from those first two pots will slug it out in must-win games.

As it is a league format, every game counts. We are unlikely to see any games where teams can afford to rest players or play in second gear and the battle for top eight spots will certainly go down to the wire.

● Anfield Drama and the Forbidden Word

One of the standout fixtures of the league stage is the Liverpool vs Real Madrid game at Anfield, a repeat of the 2018 and 2022 finals.

This season, Liverpool have shown so far that life after Klopp might not be a gloomy affair.

Their recent record against Real Madrid has been dire, and they will be looking to correct that, finally getting their revenge on a team that has denied them two CL titles over the last six years.

Well, ‘revenge’ must now be a forbidden word for Liverpool fans when referring to clashes against Real Madrid, after how badly that has worked out for them.

In fact, Real Madrid have ended their Champions League hopes four times in their last six appearances in the competition.

Liverpool will be highly motivated for this fixture, in front of their home fans and with so much on the line especially as it will come up on Matchday 5. It promises to be a highly intense, end-to-end game, the kind for which you go with a bet builder.

● Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object

Another standout fixture is the one between Arsenal and PSG at the Emirates, spiced up by the fact that two Spanish managers face each other, both with connections to Barcelona.

Luis Enrique’s side have looked irresistible so far this season, scoring goals for fun. Arteta’s Arsenal, on their part, are built on a solid defence marshalled by the duo of Gabriel and Saliba.

It will be a real test for both sides as they try to get as many points on board as possible.

Both teams could be neck and neck in the battle for top 8 spots, so this game would hold even greater significance to their hopes of an automatic qualification.

Any lover of online sports betting will already have this game marked in their calendar as one full of opportunities to win big. 

● Flick to flip the switch

Perhaps, the most fascinating match-up is one that brings out a chuckle from many people, a tie Barcelona fans hate to hear about because of how it always ends.

They face Bayern at home, in a repeat of clashes they would rather not remember.

Bayern have won the last four games between them without conceding a goal while scoring 11 goals. In the game before that streak, they beat Barcelona 8-2. Basically, the last 5 games between these two teams has produced an aggregate score of 19 - 2.

The good news for Barcelona is that the man who masterminded the 8-2 victory is now in their dugout – and he has already led them to the top of the La Liga standings – while Bayern’s coach is Vincent Kompany – who still has a lot to prove and is widely considered not yet good enough for his current position.

If recent history is anything to go by though, you do not even need free betting tips to get into this one.

● That Night in Istanbul

Matchday 1 has two huge clashes, for completely different reasons. Milan vs Liverpool is a clash between the second and third most decorated teams in Champions League history.

A big European night at San Siro is always worthy of attention, even if Milan have started the season in awful form, failing to win any game so far.

It still wouldn’t be a walk in the park for Liverpool. Who can forget that incredible CL final night in Istanbul?

The other one is between Manchester City and Inter, who last faced each other in a CL final, also at Istanbul.

An incredible night, it also was, even if not on the scale of the historic 2005 clash between the other two. City and Inter are coached by two top managers in Pep Guardiola and Simone Inzaghi, one revered and the other well on his way there.

If your favourite bet guru doesn’t have these games on queue for expert betting tips, you need to find someone else.

● The Others

Even though the smaller UEFA Competitions don’t boast of high-profile clashes like the above, there are still certain tasty clashes to look forward to.

Jose Mourinho will welcome his former club as Fenerbahçe host Manchester United in the Europa League. There will be another clash involving both countries on Turkish soil when Galatasaray host Tottenham.

In the UEFA Conference League, Real Betis and Chelsea managed to avoid each other but the Spaniards still have to face Copenhagen, who caused an upset against Manchester United in the Champions League last year.

Teams with the Easiest vs Hardest Fixtures

There is a lot of money to be made from betting on top 8 finishers in the league stage. A look at the ease or difficulty of fixtures for every team will aid selections. It could also show you where value is.

● PSG

PSG’s fixtures are probably the toughest of any of the top sides in the UCL. They face Arsenal and Bayern away while welcoming Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.

They also face PSV, possibly the toughest team from pot 3 as well as Girona and Stuttgart, who were two of the surprise packages in league football last year.

Red Bull Salzburg is the other team they will face. Of their fixtures, only or two look like they could be somewhat straightforward. The rest will be a major challenge.

The best betting site in Nigeria has them @ 2.35 to make the top 8. 

● Juventus

Meanwhile, Juventus, who have started the season brilliantly under new coach Thiago Motta, are priced @ 3.50 to make the top 8. Those odds look irresistible when you consider that they avoided the big 3 from Spain, Bayern, PSG, Liverpool and Arsenal. Their only really high-profile clash is against Man City.

Of course, they face tricky games against Leipzig, Aston Villa, Lille and Benfica, but these are hardly games that would worry them as much as it would have against the aforementioned teams they avoided. 

● Inter

Another team worth looking at is Inter, priced @ 2.35 to make the top 8. They have just two high profile games, against Manchester City and Arsenal.

Their games against Red Star, Sparta Prague and Young Boys should be reasonably straightforward. That leaves them with tricky clashes against Leipzig, Leverkusen and Monaco, three games in which they will still be favourites.

The full time prediction for any of those games should reflect Inter’s superiority and excellence over the past year. You could even bet on them to win the League stage, with the odds @ 20.0. Considering their fixtures, there is major value there.

● Dortmund

Last year’s beaten finalists, Dortmund, will be licking their lips at the fixtures lined up for them.

Apart from tough clashes against Barcelona and Real Madrid, every other game looks winnable for a club of their stature. They face Shakhtar, Bologna, Dinamo Zagreb, Sturm Graz, Celtic and Club Brugge.

Betting on their odds of 2.75 to make the top 8 looks like a smart play.

● Manchester City

Manchester City are favourites to win the league stage, with their odds @4.0 to do it, but they face tough away days at PSG and Juventus while welcoming Inter to the Etihad.

This could actually open the door for Real Madrid, who are priced @6.0 odds, to take it. Save for a trip to Anfield, their fixtures do not look particularly daunting.

Even Liverpool is not a scary team to Real Madrid, considering how their clashes over the past decade have gone.

They also face Atalanta, who they beat comfortably in the Super Cup, as well as Lille, Dortmund, Milan, Stuttgart, Brest and Salzburg. 

● The Others

The best play in the Europa league might be a bet on Fenerbahçe to make the Top 8. They have been given odds of 3.50 to do it.

Considering they are coached by Mourinho, who is an expert at executing European ties and recently took Roma to two European finals, winning one, these are irresistible odds.

In the Conference League, Chelsea are priced @3.50 to win the League stage.

Conclusion

Football fans believe there is nothing like ‘too much football’, a point of view which will be properly tested now.

Is this fervour going to remain by the end of the group stage, or will people eventually get tired from oversaturation? That is still to be determined and time will tell. For now though, gear up for the first round of games which will set everything in motion.

In our UEFA Club Competition Specials, there are 26.0 odds worth exploring on an English sweep of all three competitions.

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