Champions League group-stage draw: When is it and who could Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers face?
Follow the Champions League group stage draw with our live blog on the Sky Sports website and app; The draw takes place at 5pm in Istanbul on Thursday; Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers all feature
Thursday 25 August 2022 23:02, UK
The Champions League group-stage draw takes place on Thursday, with Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers set to discover their first opponents in the 2022/23 competition.
When is the draw?
The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw will take place from 5pm (BST) on Thursday, August 25. The draw ceremony is being held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Which teams are in the draw?
Twenty-six teams qualified automatically for the Champions League group stage via their 2021/22 league position, while six further teams booked their places via the play-offs.
The Premier League has four representatives at the group stage.
- England: Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham
- Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla
- Italy: AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Napoli
- Germany: Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen
- France: Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille
- Portugal: Porto, Sporting, Benfica
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Austria: Red Bull Salzburg
- Belgium: Club Brugge
- Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb
- Czech Republic: Viktoria Plzen
- Denmark: FC Copenhagen
- Israel: Maccabi Haifa
- Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
- Scotland: Celtic, Rangers
How does the draw work?
The 32 teams will be split into four seeding pots for Thursday's draw.
Pot 1 will consist of the holders, Real Madrid, Europa League winners, Eintracht Frankfurt, and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations who did not qualify via one of the 2020/21 continental titles. Pots 2 to 4 will be determined by club coefficient rankings.
No team can play a side from their own league at this stage, meaning there will be no all-English or all-Scottish ties until the knockout phase, though teams from England and Scotland could be drawn against each other. UEFA will confirm any other restrictions ahead of the draw ceremony.
When are the group stage games?
The full fixture list for the group stage will be revealed after the draw but UEFA has confirmed the matchday dates.
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
When is the Champions league round of 16 draw?
The round of 16 draw will take place on November 7 at 12pm CET in Nyon, Switzerland.
All the key Champions League dates
The 2022/23 Champions League final will take place on June 10, 2023 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, which was the venue for Liverpool's famous comeback victory over AC Milan in 2005.
Round of 16: February 14/15/21/22 & March 7/8/14/15, 2023
Quarter-finals: April 11/12 & 18/19, 2023
Semi-finals: May 9/10 & 16/17, 2023
Final: June 10, 2023 (Istanbul, Turkey)
