A total of 32 teams are competing in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League with dreams of winning the most prestigious trophy in professional club soccer.
English power Chelsea is the defending champion, and a host of contenders will look to knock the Blues off that perch. French side Paris Saint-Germain, Germany's Bayern Munich and 2021 finalists Manchester City are considered the favorites by the bookmakers.
The tournament starts out with a group stage (eight groups of four teams each), and only the top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 16 that kicks off in February 2022. Two-leg, aggregate-goal knockout rounds are played the rest of the way through to the single game final that will be held on May 28, 2022 in Russia.
For the first time since 1965, there will be no away goals tiebreaker used in the knockout rounds of UEFA competitions, including the Champions League, after it was abolished in June 2021. Series that are tied on aggregate goals after the conclusion of the second leg will go straight to extra time and, if necessary, a penalty-kick shootout.
