UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
UEFA Champions League 2023-24 playoff round draw: six of these 13 teams will play in the group stage
Galatasaray, PSV and Rangers are the most familiar names who could join Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City in the UCL group stage.
It’s full steam ahead as far as most domestic seasons are concerned in Europe and the 2023-24 Champions League is also making swift progress, with only one more qualifying round to be played until we know the identifies of all 32 teams in the group stage of this year’s tournament. Who will be joining Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and co in the first round proper?
Following the finals of the 2022-23 edition and last season’s Europa League, 26 of the 32 participants were already known, with all qualifying via their domestic leagues. The exception were Sevilla, who claimed their place after yet another victory in Europe’s second club competition.
Which teams have already qualified for the 2023-24 Champions League group stage?
- 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
There are therefore still six spots up for grabs, with 13 teams battling it out to qualify. The final playoff round consists of six two-legged ties, although one tie from the third qualifying round - AEK Athens vs Dinamo Zagreb - has still to be completed after the first leg was postponed following supporter riots, with one person tragically being killed.
2023-24 UEFA Champions League playoff round draw
- Maccabi Haifa (Israel) vs Young Boys (Switzerland)
- Antwerp (Belgium) vs AEK Athens (Greece) / Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
- Raków Częstochowa (Poland) vs FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
- Molde (Norway) vs Galatasaray (Turkey)
- Rangers (Scotland) vs PSV (Netherlands)
- Braga (Portugal) vs Panathinaikos (Greece)
The first leg of those ties will be played on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 August, with the returns following on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 August.
The second leg of the AEK Athens vs Dinamo Zagreb third qualifying round clash will be played on Saturday 19 August, which means the original dates of the winner’s playoff round games will stand.
By 30 August, we will know all 32 group stage participants in the 2023-24 Champions League.