This season, the world of football is quite different than we're used to. Of course, this is all due to circumstances we have absolutely no, or at the very best very little, control of. However, there is good news - football has already returned, with most domestic leagues already done and dusted, and the Champions League will do the same this week.

First, we'll get the Europa League clashes on Wednesday night, 5 August, with Manchester United taking the centre stage against LASK once again. Of course, it would take a heroic effort from the visitors to overturn Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men's 5-0 thrashing from the first meeting. But even more importantly, and after almost five months of hiatus, the Champions League will return this Friday, 7 August.

Manchester City will welcome Real Madrid at the Etihad stadium, having previously won their clash at the Santiago Bernabeu with a 2-1 scoreline. Pep Guardiola's team is primed to take this one and go all the way to the final.

The day after, on Saturday, Chelsea will visit Bayern Munich as Frank Lampard's troops hope for a miraculous comeback since the first game ended in a 3-0 stomp for the Bavarians.

What are the new rules for the return of the Champions League?

UEFA have indeed introduced a couple of new rules for the Champions League's grand return this week. First of all, all quarter-finals and semi-finals will now take place as single-leg ties, as opposed to the usual format where teams would have the chance to compete both home and away.

Additionally, seeing how this will be a one-off affair between the clubs, UEFA have decided that all games will take place across two stadiums in Portugal: Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Estadio Jose Alvalade. Of course, the unplayed round of 16 second legs will be held at the club's home grounds as they normally would, providing the health measures are met.

Teams will also have the possibility of five substitutes, as was the case throughout the domestic leagues after the break, but will also only be allowed to make these changes at three specific points in the game.

Finally, teams will be allowed to bring 23 players for all the games instead of 18, something that is usually exclusively permitted only for the final.