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 18:00CET on Thursday 30 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: Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia
GER: Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Hoffenheim
ENG: Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool
ITA: Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Internazionale Milano
FRA: Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon, Monaco
RUS: Lokomotiv Moskva, CSKA Moskva
POR: Porto, Benfica
UKR: Shakhtar Donetsk
BEL: Club Brugge
TUR: Galatasaray
CZE: Viktoria Plzeň
SUI: Young Boys
NED: Ajax, PSV Eindhoven
GRE: AEK Athens
SRB: Crvena zvezda

Who is in which pot?

Pot 1
Real Madrid (holders)
Atlético Madrid (UEFA Europa League winners)
Barcelona
Bayern München
Manchester City
Juventus
Paris Saint-Germain
Lokomotiv Moskva

Pot 2
Borussia Dortmund 89.000
Porto 86.000
Manchester United 82.000
Shakhtar Donetsk 81.000
Benfica 80.000
Napoli 78.000
Tottenham Hotspur 67.000
Roma 64.000

Pot 3
Liverpool 62.000
Schalke 62.000
Lyon 59.500
Monaco 57.000
Ajax 53.500
CSKA Moskva 45.000
PSV Eindhoven 36.000
Valencia 36.000

Pot 4
Viktoria Plzeň 33.000
Club Brugge 29.500
Galatasaray 29.500
Young Boys 20.500
Internazionale Milano 16.000
Hoffenheim 14.285
Crvena zvezda 10.750
AEK Athens 10.000

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 new competition system 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 have been paired in order to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday, namely:

  Real Madrid & Barcelona
  Atlético Madrid & Valencia
  Bayern & Dortmund
  Man. City & Tottenham
  Juventus & Internazionale Milano
  Paris & Lyon
  Lokomotiv Moskva & CSKA Moskva
  Porto & Benfica
  Man. United & Liverpool
  Napoli & Roma
  Schalke & Hoffenheim
  Ajax & PSV Eindhoven

  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 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 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season
• Defender of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season
• Midfielder of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season
• Forward of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League season

Season calendar

This season's final is taking place in Madrid©Getty Images

18/19 September: Group stage, matchday one
2/3 October: Group stage, matchday two
23/24 October: Group stage, matchday three
6/7 November: Group stage, matchday four
27/28 November: Group stage, matchday five
11/12 December: Group stage, matchday six

17 December: Round of 16 draw
12/13/19/20 February: Round of 16, first leg
5/6/12/13 March: Round of 16, second leg
15 March: Quarter-final & semi-final draw
9/10 April: Quarter-finals, first leg
16/17 April: Quarter-finals, second leg
30 April/1 May: Semi-finals, first leg
7/8 May: Semi-finals, second leg

Saturday 1 June: Final – Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid