The UEFA Champions League is an unparalleled battleground for most of the world’s best football clubs and players to compete for a glittering prize. It’s wall-to-wall top-quality sporting theatre, and we love it. But… yes, there’s a but.

It’s maintained the same format – 32 teams, eight groups of four – for more than two decades now. And that has sometimes made the early stages a little bit predictable, with clubs sealing qualification well before the groups are over. Third-placed teams would also get another chance in the Europa League, making it all somewhat anti-climactic, leaving the real drama for the knockout stage.

So this is the good news: for the first time since 2003/04, the Champions League has had a chunky makeover, and now has a new format that should keep it more interesting for more fans for more of the season. What’s so different, you ask? Well, read on and all will be revealed…

So how will the Champions League work this season?

The 32-team group stage has been replaced with a 36-team league phase (just don’t call it a “Super League”). Each team plays eight different opponents, four at home and four away, with the usual three points for a win and one for a draw. At the end of the league phase, the top eight will qualify directly for the last-16 knockout stage. The teams placed ninth to 24th will enter a two-legged play-off to join them there. The bottom 12 will be eliminated entirely, as will the play-off losers – no Europa League second chances here.

From there it’s as you were – a straight two-legged, home-and-away knockout competition to reach the final, which this season will take place at Munich’s Allianz Arena on Saturday 31 May.

What are the benefits of the new Champions League format?

Apart from allowing an extra four teams to enter the Champions League proper, the thinking is that there are more big clashes between big teams, because each team plays two teams from each of the four seeding pots. So, for example, rather than Manchester City being a top seed and grouped with a second, third and fourth seed, they’ll play two other top-seeded teams in the league phase. This season that’ll be Inter Milan and Paris St-Germain.

Under the previous group format, a team could qualify if they won their first three or four games – and the top seeds often would, as they were inevitably facing lower-ranked opposition – which meant a few dead rubbers. That should be a thing of the past now, with jeopardy all the way up to the final matchday. Which will be a tumultuous night featuring 18 simultaneous matches. Which sounds amazing.

Will the new Champions League format be better?

With an extra away game, matchgoing fans of the clubs involved will get the opportunity of taking another trip to an overseas club – always a treat – while those who prefer to watch on TV, whether partisan or neutral, will enjoy more variety than ever before.

Plus, look at the draw for the league phase matches. The games that this maiden voyage have already thrown up are mouthwatering. Arsenal v PSG. Aston Villa v Bayern. Liverpool v Leverkusen. Liverpool v Real Madrid. There’s no waiting around until February or March for it to get proper tasty. Gone are the dead rubbers, and that can only benefit us as fans watching the games. (Less so, your club’s fifth choice centreback who previously made European debuts in matchday 6).

It’s also possible we could see more teams from outside the traditional elite qualifying for the knockout stages (which in turn could help narrow the gap between the richest and the rest, thanks to prize money). But best of all, it seems to have staved off the possibility of a closed Super League featuring the same teams every season. Participation is still secured through domestic performance – which is as it should be.

What are the clubs saying about the new Champions League format?

Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Serhii Palkin said, “For us, playing as many European games as possible is one solution to have a good mood for our fans, our players and financing our club.”

Fernando Carro, chief executive of German champions Bayer Leverkusen, said, “I hope now there will be tension until the last match… I expect good games with this format, and I think it’s going to go very well. If small things need to be corrected, they can be corrected, but in principle, I hope it will be a long-term format.” Admittedly he did help develop the new format.

Which channel is showing the Champions League?

You can watch all the live games on Virgin TV. TNT Sports has the lion’s share of them on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting with Matchday 1 on Tuesday 17 September (there are Thursday games that week too). And this season there are also live matches on Prime Video, which has the first pick of Tuesday games from Matchday 1 up to the semi-finals. That game will always feature a British team if possible.

And you can watch the games on TNT Sports wherever you are in the UK (as long as there’s WiFi, 3G or 4G) thanks to Virgin TV Go. This brilliant app is available to all Virgin TV customers at no extra cost, and you can register it on up to five devices and view on two devices simultaneously – which is extra handy for big Champions League nights. It’s available for iPhone, iPad, Android mobile or tablets, and Windows and Mac laptops and desktops.

Download the Virgin TV Go app from the Apple app store

Download the Virgin TV Go app from Google Play

Another new aspect to the coverage is a weekly highlights show at 10.40pm on Wednesdays on BBC One HD (CH 101) and in Apps > BBC iPlayer.

Have the UEFA Europa League and Europa Conference League changed too?

Both competitions have adopted the same 36-team league format, although in the Europa Conference League – now renamed the Conference League – teams will play six matches against six different opponents, not eight. There’s no in-season movement for clubs between any of the competitions as there has been previously, and you can watch live matches on TNT Sports, generally on Thursday nights although Matchday 1 starts on Wednesday 25 September.

What is the “Swiss format” thing I keep hearing about?

The new league is partly based on a system known as the Swiss format, used in tournaments featuring chess and other games. While it is a league in which not all participants play all other participants, there are other aspects that aren’t incorporated into the new Champions League. Basically this isn’t the Swiss format and saying it is will really annoy chess aficionados. If that’s something you want to avoid.

Which British teams are in the Champions League this season?

There are five British teams, four of which are former European champions. Scottish title winners Celtic are joined by Premier League clubs Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and for the first time in the Champions League era, Aston Villa (although they did win the European Cup in its previous incarnation in 1982). Here’s how their Champions League schedules are looking.

Atalanta v Arsenal

Thursday 19 September, 8pm, TNT Sports

Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain

Tuesday 1 October, 8pm, Apps > Prime Video

Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk

Tuesday 22 October, 8pm, Apps > Prime Video

Internazionale v Arsenal

Wednesday 6 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

Sporting Lisbon v Arsenal

Tuesday 26 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

Arsenal v Monaco

Wednesday 11 December, 8pm, TNT Sports

Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb

Wednesday 22 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

Girona v Arsenal

Wednesday 29 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

Young Boys v Aston Villa

Tuesday 17 September, 5.45pm, TNT Sports

Aston Villa v Bayern Munich

Wednesday 2 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

Aston Villa v Bologna

Tuesday 22 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

Club Brugge v Aston Villa

Wednesday 6 November, 5.45pm, TNT Sports

Aston Villa v Juventus

Wednesday 27 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

RB Leipzig v Aston Villa

Tuesday 10 December, 8pm, TBC

Monaco v Aston Villa

Tuesday 21 January, 5.45pm, TBC

Aston Villa v Celtic

Wednesday 29 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

Celtic v Slovan Bratislava

Wednesday 18 September, 8pm, TNT Sports

Borussia Dortmund v Celtic

Tuesday 1 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

Atalanta v Celtic

Wednesday 23 October, 5.45pm, TNT Sports

Celtic v RB Leipzig

Tuesday 5 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

Celtic v Club Brugge

Wednesday 27 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

Dinamo Zagreb v Celtic

Tuesday 10 December, 5.45pm, TBC

Celtic v Young Boys

Wednesday 22 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

Aston Villa v Celtic

Wednesday 29 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

AC Milan v Liverpool

Tuesday 17 September, 8pm, Apps > Prime Video

Liverpool v Bologna

Wednesday 2 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

RB Leipzig v Liverpool

Wednesday 23 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

Liverpool v Bayer Leverkusen

Tuesday 5 November, 8pm, Apps > Prime Video

Liverpool v Real Madrid

Wednesday 27 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

Girona v Liverpool

Tuesday 11 December, 5.45pm, TBC

Liverpool v Lille

Tuesday 21 January, 8pm, TBC

PSV Eindhoven v Liverpool

Wednesday 29 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

Manchester City v Internazionale

Wednesday 18 September, 8pm, TNT Sports

Slovan Bratislava v Manchester City

Tuesday 1 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

Manchester City v Sparta Prague

Wednesday 23 October, 8pm, TNT Sports

Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City

Tuesday 5 November, 8pm, TNT Sports

Manchester City v Feyenoord

Tuesday 26 November, 8pm, Apps > Prime Video

Juventus v Manchester City

Wednesday 11 December, 8pm, TNT Sports

Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City

Wednesday 22 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

Manchester City v Club Brugge

Wednesday 29 January, 8pm, TNT Sports

How do I watch the Champions League on Virgin TV?

The action kicks off on Tuesday 17 September with Young Boys v Aston Villa, kicking off at 5.45pm on TNT Sports, and AC Milan v Liverpool, starting at 8pm in Apps > Prime Video.