When is the Champions League group stage draw?

Follow the Champions League group stage draw live on the Sky Sports website and app with our live blog. The draw takes occur on Thursday, August 31 at 5 p.m. in Monaco; Man City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle, and Celtic are all represented. Rangers are in a play-off match versus PSV Eindhoven.

The Champions League group-stage draw will see Man City, Arsenal, Man Utd, Newcastle and Celtic discover their opponents for the opening round of the 2023/24 edition.

Rangers will also aim to be in the mix, with a play-off against PSV Eindhoven scheduled for August.

When is the draw?

The 2023/24 Champions League group stage draw will take place at 5pm (BST) on Thursday August 31 in Monaco.

Man City are the defending Champions League title holders

Who is in the draw?

Twenty-six teams qualified automatically for the Champions League group stage via their 2022/23 league position, while six further teams will book their places via the play-offs.

England: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle

Spain: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla

Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Union Berlin

Italy: Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan, Napoli

France: Paris Saint-Germain, Lens

Portugal: Porto, Benfica

Netherlands: Feyenoord

Austria: Red Bull Salzburg

Scotland: Celtic

Serbia: Red Star Belgrade

Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk

*Six teams will be added to the list from the play-off process

How does the draw work?

For Thursday’s draw, the 32 teams will be divided into four seeding pots.

Pot 1 will include the defending champions Manchester City, Europa League winners Sevilla, and six domestic champions. Club coefficient rankings will decide pots 2–4.

At this round, no team can play a team from their own league, however teams from England and Scotland could be drawn against each other. UEFA will confirm any further limitations prior to the draw ceremony.