Little-known rule means English clubs can now face each other in Champions League first round

A little-known rule means that two English sides may face one another in the first round of the Champions League.

From next season, the current Champions League group stage format, where 32 clubs are divided into eight groups of four teams, will be replaced by a new 36-team league phase.

The draw at the start of the season will see 36 sides divided into four pots of nine. Pot 1 will feature Champions League titleholders and the eight clubs with the best coefficients.

Pots 2 to 4 are then ordered on club coefficient.

Each club will then be drawn to play two teams from each pot - one home, one away. Thus, unlike the current format, a club in Pot 1 will play against two other sides from Pot 1.

Generally, clubs from the same association will not be drawn against each other. Yet, 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 nation.

The sides that finish in the top eight will go directly to the round of 16, while those positioned between ninth and 24th will enter a playoff to discern the remaining eight teams in the next phase of the competition.

Two clubs from the Premier League could face each other in next year's Champions League first round (Getty)

Moreover, positions 25 to 36 are eliminated from Europe. From the knock-out stage, there is no country protection, meaning teams from the Premier League could play each other.

Unlike in previous years, teams from the Champions League will not drop down to the Europe League after the league phase, and will instead be eliminated from Europe altogether.

There will be one knockout round draw from the round of 16, with teams seeded based on their league-phase position.