CHAMPIONS LEAGUE football is back – and the group stage draw is underway RIGHT NOW!
Teams will hope to avoid Manchester City after they capped off their historic Treble triumph with victory over Inter Milan in last season’s final.
But all eyes will be on the Premier League trio of Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle as they make their highly-anticipated return to Europe’s top-tier competition.
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Stay up to date with all the latest from the Champions League group stage draw…
A reminder of who is in which pot
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord.
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal.
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, AC Milan, Braga, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, FC Copenhagen.
Pot 4: Young Boys, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Celtic, Newcastle United, Union Berlin, Royal Antwerp, RC Lens.
Hargreaves on the “beautiful” draw
Owen Hargreaves has also shared his thoughts on the draw.
He said: “The Champions League draw is a beautiful thing.
“Just to see who you’re going to play against, maybe against somebody you looked up to as an idol.”
Team to avoid
Joe Cole has also claimed that Newcastle and Celtic are the teams to avoid from Pot 4.
He said: “Celtic wherever they are they raise themselves and are a match for anyone.
“Newcastle will be the one that everyone will be trying to avoid in Pot 4.
“Like Celtic, St James’ Park will be rocking on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights.”
Credit: TNT SPORTS
City are ‘the team to beat’
Former Chelsea and West Ham star Joe Cole has insisted that Manchester City are still the team to beat.
He said on TNT Sports: “Without a doubt, I don’t think they are as strong as they were last year with a lot of turnover.
“But they are in that group with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
“Come six month’s time, things may be different, but they are so good at the moment.”
Last draw of its kind
This will be the last Champions League draw of its kind as it will be changing for next season.
In 12 months time, the competition will have undergone a revamp which will see more clubs being added and a new format to determine a winner.
Kane aiming for glory
Harry Kane will be hoping to reap the benefits of his move to Bayern Munich.
The German giants are the joint-third most successful club in the competition winning it on six occasions.
Kane has yet to win any major silverware in his career and will want that run to come to an end this season.
Should Bayern reach the final then the Englishman will feel comfortable with the match set to be played at Wembley.
Credit: Getty Spain eyeing the trophy
Real Madrid will no doubt be keen to get their hands back on the trophy having won it 14 times in their history.
Barcelona have won the competition six times but have failed to get out of the group stages for two consecutive seasons.
Sevilla however will be hoping to turn Europa League success into the Champions League, with the club winning the secondary competition seven times.
However, they have never won the Champions League in their history.
Atletico Madrid will also be eyeing the trophy having reached the final back three times in their history without ever winning.
Credit: EPA Italians looking to go one further
After Inter Milan reached the final last season, Italian football fans will be hoping one of Napoli, AC Milan, Lazio and Inter will be able to go one further.
AC and Inter battled it out in the semi-final while Napoli were knocked out by AC in the quarter-final.
Lazio however are taking their first steps in the tournament since 2021 when they were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the last 16.
Credit: AFP Man City looking to retain trophy
Manchester City will be looking to replicate their success in the Champions League from last season.
The Citizens beat Inter Milan 1-0 in a tense final in Istanbul thanks to Rodri’s second-half strike.
Pep Guardiola may have to adapt his team however as talisman Kevin de Bruyne is likely to miss the entire group stages.
The last time a club won the Champions League consecutively was Real Madrid when they won it three times in a row between 2016 and 2018.
Credit: Getty
Arsenal’s first CL venture in six years
The last time Arsenal were in the Champions League was during the 2016/17 campaign.
It was the Gunners’ 17th consecutive campaign in the tournament.
It was also the club’s seventh year in a row of being knocked out at the round of 16 stage as they were thrashed 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta will be hoping to avoid that fate as he makes his debut as a manager in the competition this season.
Credit: Alamy Manchester United’s return to the tournament
Man United will be making their first appearance in the Champions League after failing to qualify for last year’s edition.
Erik ten Hag’s side have not had a convincing start to the Premier League campaign and will be hoping to be better in Europe.
The club are still trying to add to the squad with Sofyan Amrabat among the targets.
The midfielder played in the Conference League final last season for Fiorentina but suffered defeat to West Ham.
Credit: EPA How will Newcastle fair?
The Magpies have qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2003/04 season.
Eddie Howe’s side have added quality to an already impressive team this summer with Harvey Barnes, Tino Livramento, and Lewis Hall.
However, Sandro Tonali could be the biggest addition as he brings a wealth of European experience.
The midfielder reached the semi-finals of the tournament last season and will want to match that same success.
Credit: Reuters One hour to go
The draw for the Champions League will start at 5pm UK time.
Credit: Getty Many stars will miss this year’s tournament
Following the wave of players moving away from Europe this summer, the Champions League will be missing some iconic faces.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, and Karim Benzema are all among the players who will not compete after completing moves to Saudi Arabia.
While Lionel Messi will not be in the Champions League as he left PSG for Inter Miami in the MLS.
Credit: Getty What else will happen during the draw?
During the Champions League draw the awards for the 2022/23 Uefa Men’s Player of the Year, Uefa Women’s Player of the Year, Uefa Men’s Coach of the Year and Uefa Women’s Coach of the Year will be presented.
Meanwhile, former Germany striker Miroslav Klose will be awarded the 2023 Uefa President’s Award by Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin.
Credit: Reuters
Who are the favourites to win?
- Man City – 21/10
- Bayern Munich – 5/1
- Real Madrid – 17/2
- Arsenal – 10/1
- Barcelona – 12/1
- PSG – 14/1
- Man United – 16/1
- Napoli, Newcastle – 20/1
- Inter, Atletico Madrid – 25/1
- Dortmund – 33/1
- AC Milan – 40/1
- RB Leipzig, Sevilla, Benfica – 50/1
- Celtic – 150/1
*Odds provided by Betfair.
Credit: Getty How were the Pots decided?
Pot 1 includes the Champions League winners and the Europa League winners as well as champions from Europe’s top six leagues.
However as Manchester City are the current holders of the Champions League and Premier League titles, Dutch outfit PSV have snuck in.
Pots 2 to 4 have been decided by the club’s Uefa co-efficient rankings which are based on their performances in Europe.
Paired clubs
Clubs that are paired together from the same countries will play on separate days.
- A Manchester City & Manchester United
- B Sevilla & Atlético
- C Barcelona & Real Madrid
- D Napoli & Lazio
- E Bayern & Dortmund
- F Paris & Lens
- G Benfica & Porto
- H Feyenoord & PSV
- I Inter & AC Milan
- J Leipzig & Union Berlin
- K Arsenal & Newcastle
Which clubs are in Pot 4?
- Young Boys (SUI)
- Real Sociedad (ESP)
- Galatasaray (TUR)
- Celtic (SCO)
- Newcastle (ENG)
- Union Berlin (GER)
- Antwerp (BEL)
- Lens (FRA)
Credit: PA Which teams are in Pot 3?
- Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
- Salzburg (AUT)
- Milan (ITA)
- Braga (POR)
- PSV (NED)
- Lazio (ITA)
- Crvena zvezda (SRB)
- Copenhagen (DEN)
Credit: Getty Who is in Pot 2?
- Real Madrid (ESP)
- Manchester United (ENG)
- Inter (ITA)
- Dortmund (GER)
- Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
- Leipzig (GER)
- Porto (POR)
- Arsenal (ENG)
Credit: AP
Which teams are in Pot 1?
- Manchester City (ENG)
- Sevilla FC (ESP) – B
- FC Barcelona (ESP) – C
- SSC Napoli (ITA) – D
- FC Bayern München (GER) – E
- Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) – F
- SL Benfica (POR) – G
- Feyenoord (NED) – H
Credit: Getty Champions League draw day is here
Hello and welcome to today’s big Champions League draw from Monaco.
And it is a huge day for the Premier League with Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle in the draw.
Arsenal will be in the draw for Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 2017.
While Newcastle were last in the tournament in 2003.
City go into the draw as the holders after their stunning win over Inter Milan to complete The Treble last season.
Stick with us here on SunSport as we bring you all of the updates from the big day.
All eyes will be on the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco for what should be an absolute cracker!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
