The Champions League is nearly upon us for the new 2023/24 season, as treble-winners Manchester City try to retain their crown as the kings of Europe following their 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul in June.
For the final time before the competition takes on a new format next season, 32 teams will be split into eight groups of four. Each group will contain one team from each of the four seeded pots, and clubs from the same national league will not be drawn together in the same group.
Pot 1 will consist of the Champions League winners, the Europa League winners and six domestic champions of the highest ranked leagues. The remaining pots will be decided by Uefa’s club coefficient rankings.
The final will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium on 1 June 2024. Get all the latest football betting sites offers here or sign up to bet365 using The Independent’s unique bonus code by clicking here.
What time is the Champions League draw?
The draw for the group stage will take place in Monaco today, Thursday 31 August, at 5pm BST.
Rodri was the matchwinner as City won the trophy in Istanbul
(Getty Images)
Which clubs have qualified?
There are 32 clubs qualified for the Champions League group stage:
England: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United
Spain: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla
Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Union Berlin
Italy: Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan, Napoli
France: Lens, Paris Saint-Germain
Portugal: Benfica, Porto, Braga
Netherlands: Feyenoord, PSV
Austria: Salzburg
Scotland: Celtic
Serbia: Red Star Belgrade
Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
Belgium: Antwerp
Switzerland: Young Boys
Turkey: Galatasaray
Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
What are the Champions League group stage dates?
Matchday 1: 19/20 September 2023
Matchday 2: 3/4 October 2023
Matchday 3: 24/25 October 2023
Matchday 4: 7/8 November 2023
Matchday 5: 28/29 November 2023
Matchday 6: 12/13 December 2023