The new Champions League format is upon us, bringing with it a new way to upgrade your Road to the Knockouts (RttK) cards in EA Sports FC 25.

With top tier players like Jude Bellingham, Jeremie Frimpong and Diogo Jota up for grabs in the promo, it’s definitely one to pay attention to - even if it’s just because you packed the (admittedly decent-looking) Donny van de Beek Girona card.

A lot of players will also have access to the solid Nicolas Otamendi card because of the weekly objective, and he looks like a decently quick, strong and cultured early-game defender. There are also some quality cards for the Europa League and Europa Conference League, including a 5-star/5-star Rayan Cherki, an always exciting Allan Saint-Maximin and a Moise Kean that looks set to be the next great underrated Fiorentina card (the streets won’t forget Jonathan Ikone from FIFA 23).

RttK cards work a little bit differently in FC 25, thanks mostly to the new Champions League format - so here’s everything you need to know, as well as who’s earned their upgrades!

EA Sports FC 25 RttK Upgrade Tracker

• Jude Bellingham - 91 OVR - Real Madrid - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Julian Alvarez - 90 OVR - Atletico Madrid - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Jeremie Frimpong - 88 OVR - Bayer Leverkusen - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Jeremy Doku - 87 OVR - Man City - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Federico Dimarco - 87 OVR - Lombardia FC (Inter) - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Ollie Watkins - 87 OVR - Aston Villa - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Diogo Jota - 86 OVR - Liverpool - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Noa Lang - 86 OVR - PSV - Wins 0/3 - Scored 1/4
• Benjamin Sesko - 86 OVR - RB Leipzig - Wins 0/3 - Scored 1/4
• Donny van de Beek - 85 OVR - Girona - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Nicolas Otamendi - 85 OVR - Benfica - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Stefan Posch - 84 OVR - Bologna - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Andre - 84 OVR - Lille - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Cristian Romero - 88 OVR - Spurs - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Rayan Cherki - 87 OVR - Lyon - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Robin Koch - 86 OVR - Frankfurt - Wins 0/3 - Scored 1/4
• Stephen Eustaquio - 86 OVR - Porto - Wins 0/3 - Scored 1/4
• Allan Saint-Maximin - 85 OVR - Fenerbache - Wins 1/3 - Scored 1/4
• Moise Kean - 85 OVR - Fiorentina - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Kadidiatou Diani - 90 OVR - Lyon - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Claudia Pina - 87 OVR - Barcelona - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4
• Nathalie Bjorn - 86 OVR - Chelsea - Wins 0/3 - Scored 0/4

How Road to the Knockouts Cards work in EA Sports FC 25

In the huge new league tables that make up the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, each team plays a total of 8 matches. But instead of playing three opponents home and away, teams now face 8 different opponents from the pool of 36.

The top 8 teams from this league phase automatically qualify for the next round, while the teams below play an extra knockout round to fill up the rest of the round of 16 before the full knockout stage begins.

Within this league phase, your RttK player has three chances to be upgraded:

• If the player’s team wins 3 matches out of 8, they receive 1 to their overall
• If their team scores in at least 4 of their 8 matches, they receive 1 to their overall
• If their team finishes in the top 2 in the league phase, they receive both a PlayStyle and a Role

So while the first couple of upgrades are very achievable, only the very best teams are likely to finish right at the top of the table.

For more on how to set your Ultimate Team up for victory, check out these EA Sports FC 25 Tactics Codes from Pro Players, Content Creators and Club Team Managers.