UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Group Stage draw: times, how to watch on TV, stream online
If you’re looking for all the key information you need on the UCL draw, you’ve come to the right place.
Football’s back! Well, it never went away, but the UEFA Champions League did have a very short summer holiday (preliminary qualifying started just two weeks after Manchester City beat Inter).
Now, we’re back for the 23/24 edition of the competition, and here’s all the information you need ahead of the draw.
Real Madrid, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City... Newcastle? Who’s going to take home the trophy this year?
Well, the early predictions from the gurus in glasses and white coats put Pep Guardiola and the sky blue machine top of the pops when it comes to favourites to win. The Manchester club have signed well having brought in Kovacic and Gvardiol and Doku, so perhaps we’ll see Erling in the final once again.
Other candidates to achieve eternal glory on the European stage are Boehly’s bold Chelsea, Mbappé and the love of his life, PSG, or maybe even the Xavineta comes crashing through with FC Barcelona.
What time does the UCL Group Stage draw start?
The UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw begins at 6:00 p.m. local time in Monaco, which is 12:00 p.m. ET and 9:00 a.m. PT.
How can I watch the Champions League draw?
A great question. You’ve certainly come to the right place is you’re wondering how to tune in.
Our colleague Kieran Quaile will be guiding you through the UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw right here on AS USA, taking you through all the egg-opening action as it happens.
Build up with AS USA is set to start around an hour before the first team is pulled out of the pot, so you’ve got plenty of time to get acquainted with everything that goes on.
While you follow the AS USA live feed, you can also watch the draw in real time on UEFA.com.
Which teams have qualified in the UEFA Champions League 23/24?
The usual suspects are present in this year’s elite tournament, as well as some old foes you may recognise.
As for the playoffs, Young Boys, Galatasaray and Braga made it through before they concluded on Wednesday 30 August. PSV thumped Rangers 5-1 in the second game of their two-legged affair, leaving Celtic as the only Scottish representative in the tournament. Antwerp made it past AEK Athens after beating them home and away, as did UCL regulars Copenhagen, who beat Polish side, Raków Częstochowa.
UEFA Champions League teams 23/24:
- 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, Braga
- Netherlands: Feyenoord, PSV
- Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk
- Austria: FC Salzburg
- Scotland: Celtic
- Serbia: Red Star Belgrade
- Switzerland: BSC Young Boys
- Turkey: Galatasaray
- Belgium: Antwerp
- Denmark: Copenhagen
When does the Champions League group stage start?
The first round of fixtures begins towards the end of September, with the games then taking place every 2-3 weeks. Here’s the full UEFA schedule for this year’s Champions League:
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Group stage matchday 1 | 19-20 September 2023 |
| Group stage matchday 2 | 3-4 October 2023 |
| Group stage matchday 3 | 24-25 October 2023 |
| Group stage matchday 4 | 7-8 November 2023 |
| Group stage matchday 5 | 28-29 November 2023 |
| Group stage matchday 6 | 12-13 December 2023 |
| Round of 16 first leg | 13-14 & 20-21 February 2023 |
| Round of 16 second leg | 5-6 & 12-13 March 2023 |
| Quarter-finals first leg | 9-10 April 2023 |
| Quarter-finals second leg | 16-17 April 2023 |
| Semi-finals first leg | 30 April-1 May 2023 |
| Semi-finals second leg | 7-8 May 2023 |
| Final | 1 June 2023 |
What else do I need to know?
As usual with the group stages, the teams will be put into four pots. Pot 1 will be made up of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and six domestic league champions. Pots 2 to 4 will be determined by and pulled out of the bowl depending on the club coefficient ranking. No two teams from the same country can face each other in the group stage.
The top two teams in each group make their way directly to the round of 16. The third-placed sides in each group move down into the UEFA Sevilla - sorry, Europa - League knockout round play-offs, where they will play against the UEFA Europa League group runners-up for their spot in the round of 16.