When is the UEFA Champions League draw? How can I watch it? When does the group stage start? What are the pots? Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City await fate
- The UEFA Champions League group stage draw will take place on August 25
- You can watch a live stream of the coverage of the draw on the UEFA website
- The draw will feature 26 automatic qualifiers and six play-off round winners
- Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City will all find out their fate
The Champions League group-stages are set to return for what is expected to be another exciting season, as all of Europe’s top teams battle it out for the ultimate prize.
Can Real Madrid win a 15th European crown? Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are still hoping to win their first-ever Champions League crown, and Paris Saint-Germain are desperate to win Europe’s top prize with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in their ranks.
Liverpool and Chelsea have both had recent success in the competition and will hope they can replicate some form in the competition while Tottenham are back among Europe’s elite for the first-time since they lost in the 2019 final to the Reds.
Sportsmail provides you with everything you need to know for the Champions League draw including date, time and TV channel.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are still hoping to win their first-ever Champions League win
Tottenham are back among Europe’s elite for the first-time since they lost in the 2019 final
When is the UEFA Champions League draw?
The 2022-23 Champions League group stage draw will take place on Thursday August 25 in Istanbul, Turkey.
It will be live from 4pm.
How can I watch it?
There are a couple of ways in which fans in the UK can watch the Champions League draw.
The official UEFA website will be showing it and BT Sport will also be televising the draw live.
Last season’s runners-up Liverpool will be in Pot Two of this season’s Champions League draw
When does the group stage start?
The group-stages start on Tuesday September 6 and Wednesday September 7 with the first matches being played across those dates.
The dates are as follows:
Matchday 1: September 6-7
Matchday 2: September 13-14
Matchday 3: October 4-5
Matchday 4: October 11-12
Matchday 5: October 25-26
Matchday 6: November 1-2
How do the group stages work?
In the group stage draw, 32 teams will be in the pots – 26 automatic qualifiers and six play-off winners.
Then, it all gets a bit complicated. Before the draw, teams are then split into four seeding pots.
Pot 1 will be the holders (Real Madrid), Europa League winners (Eintracht Frankfurt), and the champions of the six highest ranked nations, who did not win either the Champions League or the Europa League.
Pot 2-4 are based on club coefficient rankings (past performances in Uefa competitions).
Each group will draw a team from each pot.
Recent winners Chelsea will be also be in Pot Two of the group-stage draw on Thursday night
The teams and pots
Pot One:
Real Madrid
Eintracht Frankfurt
Manchester City
AC Milan
Bayern Munich
Paris Saint-Germain
Porto
Ajax
Pot Two:
Liverpool
Chelsea
Barcelona
Juventus
Atletico Madrid
Sevilla
RB Leipzig
Tottenham Hotspur
Pot Three:
Borussia Dortmund
Salzburg
Shakhtar Donetsk
Inter Milan
Napoli
Sporting Lisbon
Bayer Leverkusen
Marseille
Pot Four:
Club Brugge
Celtic
Marseille
Maccabi Haifa
Viktoria Plzen
Rangers
Dynamo Zagreb
FC Copenhagen
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