The format
Six league-phase matches, not a group stage
Every club faces six different opponents in one combined table. There are no four-team groups and no home-and-away return against the same league-phase opponent. The shorter schedule runs from October to December, before knockout play-offs begin in February.
Winning the competition provides a route into the following season's Europa League league phase when the club has not already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League domestically.