Champions League group stage draw: all you need to know

When and where is the draw?

The 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony begins at 18:00 CEST on Thursday 29 August. It takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

Who is involved in the draw?

ESP: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Valencia
ENG: Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur
ITA: Juventus, Napoli, Internazionale Milano, Atalanta
GER: Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig
FRA: Paris, Lyon, LOSC Lille
RUS: Zenit, Lokomotiv Moskva
POR: Benfica
UKR: Shakhtar Donetsk
BEL: Club Brugge, Genk
TUR: Galatasaray
AUT: Salzburg
GRE: Olympiacos
CZE: Slavia Praha
NED: Ajax
CRO: GNK Dinamo
SRB: Crvena zvezda

What are the draw pots?

Pot 1

Liverpool (ENG, holders)
Chelsea (ENG, UEFA Europa League winners)
Barcelona (ESP)
Manchester City (ENG)
Juventus (ITA)
Bayern (GER)
Paris (FRA)
Zenit (RUS)

Pot 2

Real Madrid (ESP) coefficient 146.000
Atlético Madrid (ESP) 127.000
Borussia Dortmund (GER) 85.000
Napoli (ITA) 80.000
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 80.000
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) 78.000
Ajax (NED) 70.500
Benfica (POR) 68.000

Pot 3

Lyon (FRA) 61.500
Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 61.000 
Salzburg (AUT) 54.500
Olympiacos (GRE) 44.000
Club Brugge (BEL) 39.500
Valencia (ESP) 37.000
Internazionale Milano (ITA) 31.000
GNK Dinamo (CRO) 29.500

Pot 4

Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) 28.500
Genk (BEL) 25.000
Galatasaray (TUR) 22.500
RB Leipzig (GER) 22.000
Slavia Praha (CZE) 21.500
Crvena zvezda (SRB) 16.750
Atalanta (ITA) 14.945
LOSC Lille (FRA) 11.699

The draw takes place in Monaco©Getty Images

Clubs' coefficients are determined either by the sum of all points won in the previous five years or by the association coefficient over the same period – whichever is higher (under a new system introduced for 2018/19 onwards).

How does the draw work?

• The 26 teams given direct entry to the group stage under the competition system introduced in 2018/19 are joined by the six winners of the play-off ties.

• The teams are split into four seeding pots. Pot 1 consists of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations. Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings.

• No team can play a club from their own association and, based on decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, clubs from Russia and Ukraine must not be drawn in the same group.

• In the case of associations with two or more representatives, clubs will be paired in order to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday.

  If a paired club is drawn, for example, in Groups A, B, C or D, the other paired club – once drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of Groups E, F, G or H.

• The draw also establishes the groups for the UEFA Champions League path of the UEFA Youth League.

UEFA awards

The following award winners will also be announced during the draw ceremony:

• UEFA Men's Player of the Year
• UEFA Women's Player of the Year
• Goalkeeper of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
• Defender of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
• Midfielder of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season
• Forward of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League season

Season calendar

17/18 September: group stage, matchday one
1/2 October: group stage, matchday two
22/23 October: group stage, matchday three
5/6 November: group stage, matchday four
26/27 November: group stage, matchday five
10/11 December: group stage, matchday six

16 December: round of 16 draw

18/19/25/26 February: round of 16, first leg
10/11/17/18 March: round of 16, second leg

20 March: quarter-final & semi-final draw

7/8 April: quarter-finals, first leg
14/15 April: quarter-finals, second leg
28/29 April: semi-finals, first leg
5/6 May: semi-finals, second leg

Saturday 30 May: final – Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı, Istanbul