Real Madrid are ready to defend their 14th European club title as Manchester City, PSG, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and other powers set their sights on claiming the trophy.
The 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage is nearly set with 32 clubs across Europe ready to battle for the top continental crown.
Los Blancos won last year's title behind Karim Benzema's heroics, but this year there are plenty of other challengers. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will hope to lead PSG to the club's first Champions League triumph, while Robert Lewandowski has moved to Barcelona in the hopes of helping the Blaugrana back to the top.
The group stage draw will lay out each club's path to the knockout stage, with eight groups of four ready to be drawn. Each club will play six group stage matches, with three at home and three on the road.
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What channel is Champions League draw?
Viewers in all countries will have a chance to watch the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw.
Champions League broadcasters in several countries will carry the draw. For other regions where rightsholders are not broadcasting the show, fans can stream it live on UEFA's YouTube channel or on the official UEFA website.
| 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 |
How does the Champions League draw work?
The group stage draw will see 32 teams split into eight groups of four teams each. During the draw, UEFA will select one team from each of four pots to make up each group.
Pot 1 will consist of the defending Champions League and Europa League title winners, plus the reigning league champions from each of the top six nations as ranked by UEFA country coefficient list.
Since Champions League winners Real Madrid are also the Spanish league champions (a top-six nation), the Pot 1 spot reserved for the Spanish champions is assigned to the next best nation in the coefficient ranking (Netherlands) and its league winner (Ajax).
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.
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Champions League pots for group stage draw
Each club's UEFA club coefficient ranking is included for Pots 2-4 since club seeding in those pots is based on this 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.
Clubs from the same country cannot be drawn in the same group and must be moved to the next available group.
| 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
Champions League playoff round qualifiers
The winners of the following aggregate-goal playoff series joined the 26 other clubs in the Champions League group stage draw. Dinamo Zagreb were the last team to make it in, needing extra time to oust Norway's Bodo/Glimt.
The first team listed in the playoff matchups below hosted the first leg. Teams in bold advanced.
| Match | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maccabi Haifa (Israel) vs. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) | 3-2 | 2-2 | 5-4 |
| FC Copenhagen (Denmark) vs. Trabzonspor (Turkey) | 2-1 | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| FK Bodo/Glimt (Norway) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) | 1-0 | 1-4 (a.e.t.) | 2-4 |
| Qarabag (Azerbaijan) vs. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Rep.) | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
| Rangers (Scotland) vs. PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) | 2-2 | 1-0 | 3-2 |
| Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) vs. Benfica (Portugal) | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-5 |
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Champions League schedule 2022/23
With the six teams emerging from the playoffs officially confirmed, the 2022/23 Champions League will commence in earnest with the 32-team group stage.
All six group matchdays will wrap up before the World Cup break with the knockout rounds kicking off in February 2023.
Group stage schedule
The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage will take place on Aug. 25, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Only the top two teams from each group will advance to the knockouts.
| 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 schedule
The draw for the 2022/23 Champions League Round of 16 will take place on Nov. 7, 2022. The draw for the remainder of the 2022/23 Champions League knockout bracket (quarter-finals and semi-finals) will take place on March 17, 2023.
The final will be held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on June 10, 2023.
| Round | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg |
|---|---|---|
| Round of 16 | Feb. 14-22, 2023 | Mar. 7-15, 2023 |
| Quarterfinals | Apr. 11-12, 2023 | Apr. 18-19, 2023 |
| Semifinals | May 9-10, 2023 | May 16-17, 2023 |
| Final | June 10, 2023 | |