CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Three spaces remain as Galatasaray, Young Boys and Braga seal UCL places
The draw for the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage will take place on Thursday evening with just three spots up for grabs.
Following Wednesday’s Champions League playoff round games, three teams secured their group stage places with the losers having to make do with a place in the Europa League.
Sporting Braga (Portugal), Galatasaray (Turkey) and Young Boys (Switzerland) will all be in Thursday’s draw for the group stage as losers Panathinaikos (Greece), Molde (Norway) and Maccabi Haifa (Israel) head to the Europa League.
Tuesday's UCL results
Maccabi Haifa (Israel) vs Young Boys (Switzerland), 0-3 on agg.
Molde (Norway) vs Galatasaray (Turkey), 3-5 on agg.
Braga (Portugal) vs Panathinaikos (Greece), 3-1 on agg.
Still to play in the UCL playoffs
Wednesday night will see the final three places filled as the last round of playoff games are concluded with all three ties delicately poised.
Wednesday's games
AEK Athens (Greece) vs Antwerp (Belgium), 1-0 on agg.
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) vs Rangers (Scotland), 2-2 on agg.
Copenhagen (Denmark) vs Raków Częstochowa (Poland), 1-0 on agg.
Which teams have already qualified for the 2023-24 Champions League group stage?
The list of already qualified teams for the group stage is mostly made up of the usual suspects, although Newcastle United and Lens are back after lengthy absences, while Union Berlin will make their debut in the competition.
UCL group stage (23-24) already qualified
England: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United
Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla
Italy: Napoli, Lazio, Inter, Milan
Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Union Berlin
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Lens
Portugal: Benfica, Porto
Netherlands: Feyenoord
Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
Austria: FC Salzburg
Scotland: Celtic
Serbia: Red Star Belgrade
What time does the 2023-24 Champions League group stage draw start?
The draw for this season’s Champions League group stage will take place on Thursday 31 August and is due to begin at 6:00 p.m. local time in Monaco. That’s 12:00 p.m. ET and 9:00 a.m. PT.