Liverpool's nightmare scenario could be about to unfold because of new Champions League format

Liverpool are back in the Champions League! And while they won’t find out their opponents for the new league phase until August 29, they now know how they fit into their fixture list.

The group-stages have now become an expanded single 36-team league stage, with sides each facing eight different teams (four at home, four away). The dates for such fixtures have already been confirmed, with the first Champions League gameweek getting underway on Tuesday 17 September.

The league phase matchdays in full are as follows:

• Matchday 1: September 17-19

• Matchday 2: October 1/2

• Matchday 3: October 22/23

• Matchday 4: November 5/6

• Matchday 5: November 26/27

• Matchday 6: December 10/11

• Matchday 7: January 21/22

• Matchday 8: January 29

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So, with the Premier League fixtures being released on Tuesday morning, the Reds now know which games their European exploits will be sandwiched in between.

Liverpool have been granted a kind schedule around their opening Champions League fixture, with it falling in between home clashes with Nottingham Forest (September 14) and AFC Bournemouth (September 21).

They will travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 28 prior to matchday two, with an away trip to Crystal Palace then awaiting on October 5.

The Reds could face a nightmare run of fixtures for matchday three, depending on their strength of opponent, with a home clash with Chelsea preceding such a fixture on October 19. They then travel to Arsenal on October 26.

In the new league phase, Liverpool will face two of their fellow pot one sides, so it is possible for them to face an away trip to Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain between such fixtures in what would be a nightmare scenario.

They could also be drawn against Man City in the new league phase, despite sides traditionally not facing teams from the same nation in the group-stages. This is because, to avoid a deadlock, a league with four or more clubs in the competition, such as the Premier League, could play one match against another team from the same country.

Matchday four is sandwiched between another two Reds home matches in the Premier League as Liverpool host Brighton & Hove Albion (November 2) and Aston Villa (November 9).

Meanwhile, a home clash with Man City takes place on November 30 after matchday five, with such a game preceded by an away trip to Southampton (November 23). Consequently, it is possible for the Reds to face the reigning Premier League champions twice in four days in back-to-back games if the Champions League draw proves to be particularly unkind.

Liverpool travel to Everton for the final Premier League Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on December 7 ahead of matchday six. A home clash with Fulham on December 14 then awaits.

With Champions League fixtures taking place in January for the first time in this new expanded format, the Reds travel to Brentford on January 18 ahead of matchday seven, with a home clash with Ipswich Town then awaiting on January 25.

All of the final Champions League league games will take place on Wednesday 29 January, after the Tractor Boys’ trip to Anfield. Liverpool will then follow it up with an away trip to AFC Bournemouth on February 1.

The knockout stages

If the Reds finish in the top eight in the new league format, they will advance directly to the Champions League’s round of 16. Should they finish between ninth and 24th, they will instead have to navigate the knockout round play-offs.

The knockout round play-offs will take place on February 11/12 and 18/19, with the round of 16 matches scheduled for March 4/5 and 11/12.

The FA Cup fourth round takes place before the first leg of the knockout round play-offs on February 8, with Liverpool then hosting Wolves on February 15. An away trip to Man City then follows on February 22, giving the Reds even more motivation to finish in the league phase top eight to progress directly to the round of 16.

Meanwhile, the FA Cup fifth round is scheduled for March 1 ahead of the round of 16 first legs, with Liverpool then hosting Southampton on March 8. An away trip to Aston Villa then awaits on March 15 after the second leg.

Should the Reds progress, the quarter-finals take place on April 8/9 and 15/16 and the semi-finals on April 29/30 and May 6/7.

Liverpool are due to travel to Fulham (April 5) and host West Ham United (April 12) either side of a quarter-final first leg, with an away trip to Leicester City then following April 19.

Should the Reds reach the Champions League semi-finals, they will face another nightmare run of fixtures. They host Tottenham Hotspur on April 26, travel to Chelsea on May 3, and then welcome Arsenal to Anfield on May 10, with the semi-final dates sandwiched between such domestic fixtures.

And should Liverpool reach the Champions League final, which will be played at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on Saturday 31 May, it will take place just six days after their final Premier League game of the season at home to Crystal Palace on May 25.