Starting from this season, the UEFA Youth League title holders were given an automatic berth in the Domestic Champions path if there was a vacancy.

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).

[54][55] There were no seedings, but the 32 teams were split into groups defined by sporting and geographical criteria prior to the draw.

[56] In both rounds, if the aggregate score was tied after full-time of the second leg, the away goals rule was used to decide the winner.

The eight second round winners advanced to the play-offs, where they were joined by the eight group runners-up from the UEFA Champions League Path.

The draw for the round of 16 onwards was held on 9 February 2018, 13:00 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

[3] The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 11 December 2017, 14:30 CET, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.