The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage is set to take shape when the draw is held on Thursday, August 25.
Real Madrid won the competition last season after beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final. The two powerhouses could potentially be drawn against one another in the group stage given they will be placed in different pots.
Following the qualifying rounds that occurred over the summer, the new Champions League campaign officially kicks off with the group stage draw which will see 26 automatic entrants joined by the six teams that emerged from qualifying.
Prior to the draw, the 32 clubs are allocated into four pots based on different UEFA rankings as explained below. They will be drawn into eight groups each comprised of four teams.
The complete details of the draw, including date, time, TV, and streaming follow below.
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What time is Champions League group stage draw
The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw will take place on August 25 at 18:00 local time in Istanbul, Turkey.
The final three spots in the group stage will be decided just 24 hours prior to the draw as the playoffs wrap up.
| Country | Date | Time | TV channel | Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Fri, Aug. 26 | 02:00 AEST | — | Stan Sport |
| Canada | Thurs, Aug. 25 | 12:00 ET | — | DAZN |
| Hong Kong | Fri, Aug. 26 | 00:00 HKT | — | UEFA.tv, UEFA YouTube |
| India | Thurs, Aug. 25 | 21:30 IST | — | UEFA.tv, UEFA YouTube |
| Malaysia | Fri, Aug. 26 | 00:00 MYT | — | UEFA.tv, UEFA YouTube |
| New Zealand | Fri, Aug. 26 | 04:00 NZST | — | UEFA.tv, UEFA YouTube |
| Singapore | Fri, Aug. 26 | 00:00 SST | — | UEFA.tv, UEFA YouTube |
| UK | Thurs, Aug. 25 | 17:00 BST | BT Sport 1 | BT Sport site/app |
| USA | Thurs, Aug. 25 | 12:00 ET | TUDN | fuboTV, Vix+, Paramount+, CBS Sports HQ |
Champions League teams and pots for group stage draw
Pot 1 will consist of the defending Champions League (Real Madrid) and Europa League (Eintracht Frankfurt) title winners, plus the reigning league champions of each of the top six nations as ranked by UEFA country coefficient list.
Since Real Madrid are the Spanish league champions (a top-six nation) as well as defending UEFA Champions League holders, the Pot 1 spot reserved for the Spanish champions is assigned to the next best nation in the coefficient list. In this case, the Netherlands and its reigning Eredivisie champion Ajax were elevated to Pot 1.
As for Pots 2, 3, and 4, those are based on the UEFA club coefficient list, which is a mathematical formula to evaluate a specific club's performance in domestic and continental competitions over the past five years.
Each club's UEFA club coefficient ranking is included for Pots 2-4 below since club seeding in those pots is based on the coefficient ranking.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid (Champions League) | 2-Liverpool | 19-Borussia Dortmund | 33-Rangers |
| Eintracht Frankfurt (Europa League) | 5-Chelsea | 21-RB Salzburg | 34-Dinamo Zagreb |
| Manchester City (1st, England) | 6-Barcelona | 22-Shakhtar Donetsk | 38-Olympique Marseille |
| AC Milan (1st, Italy) | 8-Juventus | 23-Inter Milan | 41-FC Copenhagen |
| Bayern Munich (1st, Germany) | 9-Atletico Madrid | 25-Napoli | 44-Club Brugge |
| PSG (1st, France) | 12-Sevilla | 27-Benfica | 51-Celtic |
| Porto (1st, Portugal) | 13-RB Leipzig | 28-Sporting CP | 55-Viktoria Plzen |
| Ajax (1st, Netherlands) | 14-Tottenham | 30-Bayer Leverkusen | 169-Maccabi Haifa |
One club is selected from each pot to make up the eight groups of four teams each.
Clubs from the same country cannot be drawn in the same group and must be moved to the next available group.
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| No. of clubs | Nation | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Germany | Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 4 | England | Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham |
| 4 | Italy | AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli, Juventus |
| 4 | Spain | Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla |
| 3 | Portugal | Benfica, Porto, Sporting CP |
| 2 | France | PSG, Olympique Marseille |
| 2 | Scotland | Celtic, Rangers |
| 1 | Austria | RB Salzburg |
| 1 | Belgium | Club Brugge |
| 1 | Croatia | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 1 | Czech Rep | Viktoria Plzen |
| 1 | Denmark | FC Copenhagen |
| 1 | Israel | Maccabi Haifa |
| 1 | Netherlands | Ajax |
| 1 | Ukraine | Shakhtar Donetsk |
In addition, UEFA pairs together certain clubs from the same nation to ensure they don't play at the same time during the group stage (to optimise viewership audience). As such, when any of the teams below are drawn into groups A-D, their paired team will automatically be assigned to one of groups E-H, and vice-versa:
- Real Madrid and Barcelona
- Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig
- Manchester City and Liverpool
- AC Milan and Napoli
- Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund
- Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille
- FC Porto and Benfica
- Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur
- Juventus and Inter Milan
- Atletico Madrid and Sevilla
MORE: Results and highlights from Champions League qualifying stages
Champions League fixtures 2022/23
The group stage will wrap up by Nov. 2 with the knockout rounds commencing more than three months later.
Group stage schedule
The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage will take place on August 25, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey.
| Matchday | Dates |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sept. 6-7, 2022 |
| 2 | Sept. 13-14, 2022 |
| 3 | Oct. 4-5, 2022 |
| 4 | Oct. 11-12, 2022 |
| 5 | Oct. 25-26, 2022 |
| 6 | Nov. 1-2, 2022 |
Knockout stage schedule
The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League Round of 16 will take place on November 7, 2022.
The draw for the remaining rounds (quarter-finals and semi-finals) of the 2022/23 Champions League knockout stage will take place on March 17, 2023.
| Round | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
|---|---|---|
| Round of 16 | Feb. 14-22, 2023 | Mar. 7-15, 2023 |
| Quarter-finals | Apr. 11-12, 2023 | Apr. 18-19, 2023 |
| Semi-finals | May 9-10, 2023 | May 16-17, 2023 |
| Final | June 10, 2023 (in Istanbul, Turkey) | |