The UEFA Champions League returns this year with an all-new-format. As one of the nine teams in Pot 1, Bayern Munich will await the results of the draw to determine which eight teams they’ll face in the new group stage.
Yes, that’s right, EIGHT teams. Here’s a quick rundown of how the whole process works:
- There are 36 teams divided into four pots of nine teams each.
- Each team will be drawn against eight other teams and play a total of eight games (four at home, four away).
- Teams from the same country cannot be drawn against each other.
- A team can only draw a maximum of two teams from the same country.
- Teams in the top 8 will advance to the Ro16. Teams 9th through 24th will play a two-legged playoff to qualify for the knockouts. The rest will be eliminated from Europe.
Confused? Don’t worry, UEFA are in the same boat. That’s why this year, the draw will be conducted by a computer instead of actual human beings. Maybe that’ll make it go faster.
Here is a list of teams taking part in this year’s draw:
Pot 1:
Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool FC, Inter Milan, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, FC Barcelona
Pot 2:
Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, AC Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk
Pot 3:
Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic, RB Salzburg, Lille, Crvena Zvezda, Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys
Pot 4:
Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest, Slovan Bratislava, Sparta Praha, AS Monaco
While you’re waiting for the draw, why not check out our our most recent podcast episode? We discuss Kompany’s Bundesliga debut and compare it to what Hansi Flick is doing at FC Barcelona. Listen to it below or on Patreon or Spotify.
Draw Info
Location: Monaco
Time: 6:00 pm local time, 12:00 pm EST
TV/streaming: uefa.com
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