- This season's Champions League is currently in the quarter final stage

European football governing body UEFA have said that teams playing in the Champions League next season will be able to use four substitutions starting from the knock stages.

From 2018/19 season, managers will get the opportunity to make a fourth replacement should a game in the knock-out stages go into extra time.

This means that in Champions League, Europa League and the European Super Cup matches, three subs will be permitted in normal time, and the fourth will only be available if the games go to extra-time.

The law change follows the success of the change it recorded in the FA Cup this season where sides are already permitted to get additional substitution in extra-time.

The ammendment also filters down to the number of players on the bench which increases from 18 to 23 - giving managers the choice of up to 12 replacements to pick from.

The football organization also said that kick off time for matches will change from next season matches in the group stages.

Both the Champions League and the Europa League competitions will now start at either 5.55pm or 8pm as all games from the last-16 onwards will kick-off at 8pm.

Until now, all Champions League group matches have kicked-off at 7.45pm UK time other than games in countries like Russia where freezing temperatures have made that impossible.

However the shift to earlier kick-off times is sure to cause concern for supporters in Britain who may struggle to get to the stadiums in time for the start.

There are fewer issues for those abroad finishing work and getting to matches with the kick-offs set for 6.55pm continental time.