Champions League return plans and proposed August schedule outlined by UEFA

UEFA Congress - Beurs van Berlage Conference Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands - March 3, 2020 UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin during the UEFA Congress [REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo]

UEFA has outlined to clubs its plans for the return of the Champions League in August.

European football’s governing body have begun compiling a provisional calendar for the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign.

The competition was suspended in March halfway through the Round of 16, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Liverpool's loss to Atletico Madrid at Anfield and Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Borussia Dortmund - played behind closed doors at the Parc des Princes - were the final matches played in the competition on Wednesday, March 12.

There remain four last 16, second leg matches still to play: Bayern Munich vs Chelsea, Manchester City vs Real Madrid, Juventus vs Lyon and Barcelona vs Napoli.

UEFA and relevant club bosses met via video-conference on Wednesday, where the desire to complete this year’s Champions League was made clear.

They also outlined for the remaining games of the competition to be played in August, starting with the four remaining last 16 matches, on the weekend of August 8.

According to RMC in France, the Juventus vs Lyon encounter is provisionally set for that date.

Quarter-final matches, with RB Leipzig and Atalanta having already qualified alongside PSG and Atletico, would then take place the following midweek.

There remains uncertainty over the format of the competition and whether the last eight and semi-final matches will continues as home and away encounters.

There is the possibility that they become single leg affairs - potentially at neutral venues.

The final is due to be played in Istanbul and the head of the Turkish FA is confident the they will be in place to host the event in Istanbul as previously planned.

"God willing, we will complete our own leagues at the end of July,” Turkish Football Federation Nihat Ozdemir told a news conference.

“We will hand over our cups on the pitch and then we will cap the season off by hosting the UEFA Champions League final in August.”

UEFA are hoping that domestic league seasons will have reached their conclusion by July 31.