2017/18 UEFA Youth League season guide

Entrants
1: UEFA Champions League path: The 32 youth teams of the clubs which qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Among the hopefuls in this path are inaugural 2013/14 winners Barcelona as well as Chelsea, victors in 2014/15 and 2015/16, who did not qualify to defend their title last season.

• Anderlecht, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern München, Benfica, CSKA Moskva, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Porto all keep up their records of entering all five editions of this competition (along with domestic champions path hopefuls Ajax).

• Benfica, runners-up in 2014 and 2017, have played more games (37) and scored more goals (89) than any other teams in this competition; Chelsea have recorded the most wins (23).

Group A: Benfica (POR), Manchester United (ENG), Basel (SUI), CSKA Moskva (RUS)

Group B: Bayern München (GER), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Anderlecht (BEL), Celtic (SCO)

Group C: Chelsea (ENG), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Roma (ITA), Qarabağ (AZE)

Group D: Juventus (ITA), Barcelona (ESP), Olympiacos (GRE), Sporting CP (POR)

Group E: Spartak Moskva (RUS), Sevilla (ESP), Liverpool (ENG), Maribor (SVN)

Group F: Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Manchester City (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Feyenoord (NED)

Group G: Monaco (FRA), Porto (POR), Beşiktaş (TUR), RB Leipzig (GER)

Group H: Real Madrid (ESP), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), APOEL (CYP)

2: Domestic champions path: the domestic youth champions of the 32 best-ranked associations in the 2016 UEFA association coefficient rankings (the same rankings used to decide access to the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League).

• If a team was eligible for both, they enter the UEFA Champions League path.

• A vacancy in the domestic champions path (including if a club is instead eligible for the UEFA Champions League path, for example Real Madrid) was filled by the domestic youth champion of the next best-ranked association.

• Salzburg won the title last season after starting in the domestic champions path.

• For the first time there are entrants from Albania, Latvia and Luxembourg.

Competition system

UEFA Champions League path
The 32 clubs entering via the UEFA Champions League will compete in groups with the same make-up and fixture list as the senior competition.

• The eight group winners will progress straight to the round of 16.

• The eight runners-up will go into the play-offs.

Domestic champions path
The 32 teams will compete in two knockout rounds of home-and-away ties. There will be no seeding.

• The eight teams remaining after the second round will go into the play-offs.

Play-offs
The eight domestic champions path survivors will be drawn at home to the eight UEFA Champions League path runners-up in one-off ties to decide the eight remaining round of 16 berths.

Knockout phase and final
The knockout phase, starting with the round of 16, will consist of single-leg ties.

• The semi-finals and the final will be played on 20 and 23 April respectively at the Colovray Stadium opposite UEFA's Swiss headquarters in Nyon.

More information can be seen in the competition's official regulations.

Season calendar
Pre-season draws
UEFA Champions League draw: 24 August, Monaco
Domestic champions path draw (both rounds): 29 August, Nyon

Autumn matches
UEFA Champions League path matchday one: 12/13 September
UEFA Champions League path matchday two: 26/27 September
Domestic champions path round one, first leg: 27 September
UEFA Champions League path matchday three: 17/18 October
Domestic champions path round one, second leg: 18 October
UEFA Champions League path matchday four: 31 October/1 November
Domestic champions path round two, first leg: 1 November
UEFA Champions League path matchday five: 21/22 November
Domestic champions path round two, second leg: 22 November
UEFA Champions League path matchday six: 5/6 December

Knockout dates
Play-off draw: 11 December
Play-offs: 6/7 February
Knockout draw (round of 16 onwards): 9 February
Round of 16: 20/21 February
Quarter-finals: 13/14 March
Semi-final: 20 April, Nyon
Final: 23 April, Nyon

Still confused? Let this graphic explain what happens...