When is the Champions League group stage draw? Teams, pots, TV and streaming

James Shearman

• Updated: 26 Aug 2021 16:05 BST
• 3 min read

As the new season gets underway, the Champions League group stage draw is certainly an occasion to keep your eye on.

Thirty-two of Europe's top teams will be placed into eight groups of four, with the teams in each group set to face each other twice, both at home and away.

Then, the top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout phase of the competition.

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Meanwhile, the teams that finish third in their respective groups will be demoted to the Europa League knockout rounds and the fourth-placed teams will be eliminated from European competition altogether.

In last season's tournament, Manchester United were knocked out in the group stage, with Chelsea the eventual winners of the competition for a second time after defeating Manchester City in the final.

When is the Champions League group stage draw?

The group stage draw will take place on August 26 at 18:00 CET (16:00 BST) in Nyon, Switzerland.

Which teams are in the Champions League draw

The group stage draw will involve 26 automatic qualifiers:

Ajax (NED)

Atalanta (ITA)

Atletico Madrid (ESP)

Barcelona (ESP)

Bayern Munich (GER)

Besiktaş (TUR)

Chelsea (ENG, holders)

Club Brugge (BEL)

Dortmund (GER)

Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

Inter Milan (ITA)

Juventus (ITA)

Leipzig (GER)

Liverpool (ENG)

LOSC Lille(FRA)

Manchester City (ENG)

Manchester United (ENG)

Milan (ITA)

Paris (FRA)

Porto (POR)

Real Madrid (ESP)

Sevilla (ESP)

Sporting CP (POR)

Villarreal (ESP, UEFA Europa League winners)

Wolfsburg (GER)

Zenit (RUS)

and six play-off winners:

Ferencvaros vs Young Boys

Ludogorets vs Malmo

PSV vs Benfica

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Monaco

Brondby vs RB Salzburg

Dinamo Zagreb vs Sheriff

What are the pots for the Champions League draw?

The 32 teams will be assigned to four pots prior to the draw.

Pot 1 contains the winners of the the top-six ranked leagues in Europe (Spain, England, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal) as well as the winners of last season's Champions League and Europa League.

The remaining 24 sides are placed into pots 2, 3 and 4 as a result of their UEFA club coefficients. UEFA club coefficients are based on previous performance in European competitions.

Pot 1:

Chelsea (Champions League holders)

Bayern

Manchester City

Atletico de Madrid

Villarreal (Europa League holders)

Inter Milan

Sporting CP

LOSC Lille

Pot 2:

Real Madrid

Barcelona

Juventus

Paris Saint-Germain

Manchester United

Liverpool

Sevilla

Borussia Dortmund

Pots 3 and 4 cannot be confirmed until the Champions League playoffs are over.

Where can I watch and stream the draw?

In the United Kingdom, BT Sport 1 will begin coverage of the draw at 15:45 BST.

The draw will also be streamed live via Uefa’s official website.

When are the Champions League group stage games taking place?

The games will be played across six matchdays, always on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Matchday 1: 14/15 September

Matchday 2: 28/29 September

Matchday 3: 19/20 October

Matchday 4: 2/3 November

Matchday 5: 23/24 November

Matchday 6: 7/8 December

Will fans be allowed in the stadiums?

Home fans will be allowed in the stadiums.

Away fans are not permitted, until further notice, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.