Reigning holders Manchester City will begin the defence of the European title with the likes of RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Crvena Zvezda in Group G, following the conclusion of the 2023/2024 UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draws held in Monaco, France on Thursday.
Group A consists of Premier League giants Manchester United facing off against German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, while Sevilla and Arsenal are the heavyweights in Group B.
Italian Serie A champions SS Napoli have been pitted against record-holders Real Madrid in Group C, while FC Barcelona are in Group H with FC Porto, Royal Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The famous and much-dreaded “Group of Death” will see French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Newcastle United trade tackles in Group F – in what will surely be the toast of neutral fans.
The 2023/2024 UCL campaign will be the last in this format, before the new changes kicks in next year (2024).
The Final of this season’s competition will take place at Wembley in London on June 1st, 2024.
Group A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, FC Copenhagen, Galatasaray.
Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, RC Lens.
Group C: SS Napoli, Real Madrid, SC Braga, Union Berlin.
Group D: SL Benfica, Inter Milan, Red Bull Salzburg, Real Sociedad.
Group E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, SS Lazio, Celtic.
Group F: Paris Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle United.
Group G: Manchester City, RB Leipzig, Crvena Zvezda, Young Boys.
Group H: FC Barcelona, FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Royal Antwerp.
Group Stage Matchdays:
Matchday 1: Sept. 19th-20th
Matchday 2: Oct. 3rd-4th
Matchday 3: Oct. 24th-25th
Matchday 4: Nov. 7th-8th
Matchday 5: Nov. 28th-29th
Matchday 6: Dec. 12th-13th
The participants in this season’s Champions League are set, and so are the pots for the draw. The field is stacked with regional heavyweights, including reigning Champions League winners Manchester City and Europa League champions Sevilla.
Joining them in pot 1 are Bayern Munich plus new signing Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain without Lionel Messi and Neymar, the latter having left for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal this summer. Manchester United, Arsenal, and Newcastle United make up the rest of the English contingent in this year’s field.
Here’s a breakdown of the pots ahead of the Draws. Pot 1 is reserved for reigning champions Manchester City and last season’s Europa League champion Sevilla, as well as the title winners of the six highest-ranked leagues per UEFA’s association coefficient.
Since Manchester City are also the English champions, Dutch Eredivisie title winners Feyenoord have earned a spot in Pot 1.
The pots were completed this week with the UEFA Champions League qualifying play-offs wrapping up. The teams that advanced have been sorted into the available pots, based on their UEFA club coefficient.
POTS:
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, FC Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord.
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal.
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, AC Milan, SS Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, Braga, PSV Eindhoven, FC Copenhagen.
Pot 4: Newcastle United, Union Berlin, RC Lens, Real Sociedad, Celtic, Young Boys, Royal Antwerp, Galatasaray.
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