Changes Made To Champions League For Remainder Of 2019/20

UEFA have confirmed a number of temporary rule changes and an amendment to the format of this season’s Champions League knockout round.

The competition is set to resume next month with the remainder of the round of 16 fixtures, originally scheduled for mid-March but postponed because of the spread of COVID-19 throughout Europe.

Chelsea currently trail Bayern Munich 3-0 ahead of the away second leg, which will be played on 7 or 8 August pending a decision on whether the tie is played in Germany or Lisbon.

As in the Premier League and FA Cup, teams will now be permitted to make up to five substitutions in a game. These changes must be made at only three breaks in play, not including half-time, between the end of normal time and extra-time, or half-time in extra-time. One additional substitution is permitted in extra-time.

The number of players available to be introduced has also been increased, with the number of substitutes increased from seven to

In terms of registering new players for the remainder of the competition, clubs can add three new ‘List A’ players, as long as these players have already been registered and were eligible to play for the club at domestic level since 3 February. This means Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech are unable to be added to Frank Lampard’s squad. There is also a limit of 25 players on the A List.

Once the remaining round of 16 ties are concluded, the rest of the competition will be played out as a final eight straight knockout tournament over an 11-day period in Lisbon from 12 to 23 August. Quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played as single-leg ties. These format and rule changes apply only to the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.

The draws for the remaining rounds will take place in Nyon, Switzerland this Friday 10 July from 11am UK time. The UEFA executive committee previously announced that the 2020/21 Champions League group stage would begin on 20 October.