Draw for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage Nears

As the UEFA Champions League gets ready for the 2023/24 season, the group stage draw scheduled to take place on Thursday, 31 August, has fans buzzing with anticipation.

Thirty-two clubs, from across England and Europe, will be split into four seeding pots and then divided into eight groups made up of four teams each.

The first pot will consist of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and six domestic champions, which includes: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Feyenoord.

Pots two to four – consisting of the remaining 24 teams – will depend on the club coefficient rankings. Among the list of restrictions that will be announced ahead of the draw, no team can play a side from their own association.

For the first time since the 2002/03 season, Newcastle are back in the group stage, making themselves the favoured underdogs to support in the upcoming games.

During the drawing ceremony, the awards for the 2022/23 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year, UEFA Women’s Player of the Year, UEFA Men’s Coach of the Year and UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year nominations will also be handed out.

Once the draw is completed, the fixtures for the new season will be confirmed, with the first matches expected to take place on 19 and 20 September.

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