The new Champions League format looks like it will make an already gruelling season even tougher this season and the placement of Manchester City’s eight fixtures does not help. Manchester City discovered their eight opponents in the new-look Champions League ‘league phase’ on August 29 and they were handed some very difficult fixtures. The Champions League will look completely different from the 2024/25 season onwards, with the typical group stage, in which four teams play one another twice to make it to the next round, scrapped. In its place, all 36 teams in the competition – up from 32 – wi…