Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus 2020-21 Champions League drawGetty / Goal composite

When is Champions League 2020-21 group stage draw & which teams are involved?

Europe's elite will soon be battling it out again as the Champions League returns for another season following a brief break.

Thanks to coronavirus pandemic-related delays, the 2020-21 and 2019-20 editions were actually running concurrently for a period, but UEFA will hope that things return to normal sooner rather than later.

Bayern Munich are defending champions, having seen off Paris Saint-Germain in last season's final, and they'll no doubt face challenges from the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

With excitement building, Goal brings you everything you need to know about the Champions League group stage draw for 2020-21, including when it is, the teams involved, seeding pots and more.

Contents

  1. When is the Champions League 20-21 group stage draw?
  2. Which teams are involved in the Champions League 20-21 group stage?
  3. When does the Champions League 20-21 group stage start?
  4. How can I watch the Champions League group stage draw?

When is the Champions League 20-21 group stage draw?

The Champions League 2020-21 group stage draw will take place on Thursday October 1, 2020.

It will be held at the RTS studios in Geneva.

Draw proceedings will commence at 4pm BST (11am ET).

As well as the Champions League group stage draw, UEFA will use the event to distribute awards to the best players and coaches of the 2019-20 competition.

Which teams are involved in the Champions League 20-21 group stage?

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
Bayern MunichBarcelonaDynamo KievLokomotiv Moscow
SevillaAtletico MadridRed Bull SalzburgMarseille
Real MadridManchester CityRB LeipzigClub Brugge
LiverpoolManchester UnitedInterBorussia Monchengladbach
JuventusShakhtar DonetskOlympiacosIstanbul Basaksehir
Paris Saint-GermainBorussia DortmundLazioFC Midtjylland
ZenitChelsea KrasnodarRennes
PortoAjaxAtalantaFerencvaros

The Champions League group stage draw will involve a total of 32 teams - 26 automatic qualifiers and six from the qualification path.

Qualified teams will be divided into four pots: Pot 1 contains the title holders, the Europa League winners and the champions of the top six national leagues based on UEFA country coeffients. The remaining three pots are populated according to a team's UEFA club coefficient.

You can see the confirmed teams that will be part of the draw in the table above.

When does the Champions League 20-21 group stage start?

The Champions League 2020-21 group stage starts with games on Tuesday October 20 and Wednesday October 21.

That means teams will have just under a month to prepare for their opening group games after learning the identities of their opponents in the draw.

There will be a total of six gameweeks in the group stage, with the last series of matches taking place on Tuesday December 8 and Wednesday December 9.

How can I watch the Champions League group stage draw?

UEFA's official website will broadcast the draw ceremony live and that can be accessed here.

If you're unable to watch the draw, Goal will also run a live blog detailing all the news from the draw as it happens, meaning you don't have to miss a thing.

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