Episode 68: Jesco von Eichmann (Sky Sports News TV Germany) talks BVB's 24/25 Champions League challenge:

Thank you for your interest in the BVB London Fan Community Podcast. Each episode of the show is about discovering a facet of Borussia Dortmund's life in conversation with experts and former participants in club life such as players, fans, coaches or even journalists who have influenced this club in its development.

Our guest today is Jesco von Eichmann. Jesco is one of the most recognisable football presenters on Sky Sports News TV Germany.

Jesco is not just a face of football reporting but he is also a radio reporter and the leading writer on BVB for Sky.  Jesco was raised and studied in the Ruhrgebiet in Bochum.

The Champions League kicks off this week with Brugge v Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, 8pm UK time.

The number of group stages and when they take place has changed, but the current iteration - 32 teams divided into eight groups, with the top two from each entering the knockout stage - has been in place for two decades.

There will be an overall increase in games from 125 to 189.

 

Of those 64, 48 will come in the new league phase, where every team plays eight times. This means the minimum number of Champions League matches for each entrant rises by two.

 

The other 16 extra games will come after the league phase concludes, in the form of a two-legged playoff to reach the round of 16.

 

The eventual finalists will have played either 15 or 17 games, depending on how high they finish in the league phase. Currently, the finalists play 13 times.

 

Rather than the current format of eight different groups, the new-look Champions League will feature one single table with all 36 teams.

 

The sides who finish 1st-8th in the league phase will qualify automatically for the round of 16.

 

But those who end up in 9th-24th will enter a two-legged playoff to make the knockout phase proper.

 

Those playoff ties will be seeded - the clubs from 9th-16th playing the second leg at home against the sides placed 17th-24th.

 

The round of 16 will be seeded in a similar fashion, with the automatic qualifiers playing the second leg at home.

 

Once those matchups are determined with the playoffs, the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be the same two-legged knockout format fans are accustomed to.

 

Dortmund have to play Celtic, Brugge, Sturm Graz, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Shaktar Donetzk, Bologna and Dinamo Zagreb. 

1.  All change in the Champions League: A look at the new tournament format.  

2. A Focus on the game ahead against Club Brugge, always a tough opponent, will the Belgian leaders cause an upset?

3.  A trip to the new Santiago Bernabeu of Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham returns to Westfalenstadion.

4. Hansi Flick has the inside track on the Bundesliga but what will reception will Robert Lewandowski get from the Suedtribuene? 

5. A warm welcome assured for the SPL Champions, Celtic FC in Dortmund. 

6. Visitors Austrian Champions Sturm Graz have pushed out RB Salzburg winning the 23/24 title how far can the Christian Ilzer coached club, whose players include Scotland U21 Max Johnston, go?

7. Can 25-time record Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb challenge Die Schwarz-Gelben away?

8. A fifth placed finish for the Italian side Bologna will the trip to Northern Italy present a hiccup for BVB? 

09. Shaktar Donetzk, a known opponent, a chance for solidarity with the war-torn country in Dortmund but how good are Marino Pusic's team?

10. Predictions? Can Borussia win the final 28 years later in Munich in 2025?

11. Social media.

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