The Champions League group stage is almost set, with all 32 teams awaiting their fate at the Aug. 31 draw. Manchester City return with the hopes of successfully defending their title as champions of Europe after winning the Champions League for the first time last season, while Sevilla earn a spot in the competition after becoming Europa League champions. A handful of continental heavyweights, including Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid, all have their eyes on the prize after deep runs in recent years.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will play in the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season while the likes of Newcastle United and Union Berlin will play in the competition for the first time ever. Berlin is one of several clubs with Americans on their books — Brenden Aaronson joined the club over the summer, while AC Milan will have Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah on hand after signing them in July.
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Here’s what you need to know before tuning into the group stage draw.
How to watch
- Date: Thursday, Aug. 31 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
- Location: Grimaldi Forum — Monaco
- Live stream: Paramount+
What are the rules for the draw?
Thirty-two teams will be seeded into four pots of eight. The first pot will consist of the reigning Champions League winners, Manchester City, as well as the most recent Europa League winners, Sevilla. The remaining six slots will go to the champions of the top six European leagues based on UEFA’s association coefficient. The remaining teams will be sorted by their UEFA club coefficient once the games on Tuesday and Wednesday are over.
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Playoff second legs
All matches will air on Paramount+ with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET.
Tuesday
Young Boys 3, Maccabi Haifa 0 (Young Boys advance on aggregate, 3-0)
Sporting Braga 1, Panathinaikos 0 (Braga advance on aggregate, 3-1)
Galatasaray 2, Molde 1 (Galatasaray advance on aggregate, 5-3)
Wednesday
PSV 5, Rangers 1 (PSV advance on aggregate, 7-3)
Copenhagen 1, Rakow Czestochowa 1 (Copenhagen advance on aggregate, 2-1)
AEK Athens 1, Antwerp 2 (Antwerp advance on aggregate, 3-1)
Pots
Pot 1
- Manchester City
- Sevilla
- FC Barcelona
- Napoli
- Bayern Munich
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Benfica
- Feyenoord
Pot 2
- Real Madrid
- Manchester United
- Inter Milan
- Borussia Dortmund
- Atletico Madrid
- RB Leipzig
- Porto
- Arsenal
Pot 3
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Red Bull Salzburg
- AC Milan
- Lazio
- Red Star Belgrade
- Braga
- Copenhagen
Pot 4
- Newcastle United
- Union Berlin
- Lens
- Real Sociedad
- Celtic
- Galatasaray
- Young Boys
- Antwerp
Group stage matchdays
- Matchday 1: Sept. 19-20
- Matchday 2: Oct. 3-4
- Matchday 3: Oct. 34-25
- Matchday 4: Nov. 7-8
- Matchday 5: Nov. 28-29
- Matchday 6: Dec. 12-13