Real Madrid, the reigning champions, and the rest of Europe’s elite clubs will learn the roadmap to continental glory when the new season’s European Champions League group stage draw is made.
The Champions League group stage draw will take place today, Thursday, in Istanbul, Turkey at 19:00 Saudi time.
The draw will be broadcast on the official website of the UEFA European Football Association.
Rating of participating clubs
Before the draw, the European Football Association has classified the 32 clubs participating in the Champions League this season into four tiers, and these clubs will be divided into 8 groups, with the first tier clubs leading these groups.
Groups will not combine two teams from the same association, for example two teams from the Spanish Federation will not be in the same group.
The two teams that finish first and second in each group advance to the final price round (Round 16), while the third-placed team advances to the qualifying round of the Europa League final price.
First classification: Real Madrid, Eintracht, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Porto, Ajax.
Second classification: Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Sevilla, Liverpool, Chelsea, Juventus, Atlético Madrid, Leipzig.
Third place: Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Inter Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Salzburg, Sporting Lisbon.
Fourth seed: Marseille, Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, Copenhagen, Viktoria Pilsen, Maccabi Haifa, Celtic, Brugge.
Schedule of group stage matches
First round: 6 and 7 September.
Second round: 13 and 14 September.
Third round: 4 and 5 October.
Fourth round: 11 and 12 October.
Fifth round: 25 and 26 October.
Sixth round: 1 and 2 November.
The final match of the most important continental club championship will take place in Istanbul next June 10 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, which is the scene of the historic match between Liverpool and Milan, where the former won on penalties after falling 3-0 in the first half in season 2005.
Source: agencies