Manchester City fans will be happy with their group as they seek to defend their Champions League title in 2023/24 - but Newcastle have been handed a stinker.
Arsenal and Manchester United also found out their first-round opponents in Thursday’s draw ahead of the action beginning later in September.
Two teams from the eight groups will qualify for the round of 16, and the teams in third will drop a tier to the Europa League - for which the draw was also made on Thursday. The third UEFA Cup competition, the Conference League, will also kick off this month.
Defending champions City will take on Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys and Leipzig with strong hopes of progressing. Arsenal have Lens, Sevilla, and PSV Eindhoven, while Manchester United have Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Copenhagen. All three teams will be thankful they avoided Newcastle’s group, though, with the Magpies set to take on Milan, Paris St Germain and Borussia Dortmund.
When does the Champions League 2023/24 begin?
Matchday one will see teams play their first group stage games on September 19 or 20. Teams in the eight groups of four sides will play each other home and away.
Subsequent matchdays will be:
- Matchday two: October 3-4,
- Matchday three: October 24-25,
- Matchday four: November 7-8,
- Matchday five: November 28-29,
- Matchday six: December 12-13.
When will the round-of-16 draw be made? When will round-of-16 games be played?
For the teams to have advanced, the draw will be made on December 18.
The second round games will be played on February 13-14 and 20-21 for the first legs and the second legs will be on March 5-6 and 12-13.
Where will the Champions League final be played?
A draw for the quarter-finals, semis and final will be made on March 15.
The quarters will be played on April 9-10 and 16-17 with the semis to be on April 30- May 1 and then May 7-8.
Wembley Stadium will host the final on June 1.
What is the group stage draw for the Champions League?
Group A: Bayern (GER), Man United (ENG), Copenhagen (DEN), Galatasaray (TUR)
Group B: Sevilla (ESP), Arsenal (ENG), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Lens (FRA)
Group C: Napoli (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP), Braga (POR), Union Berlin (GER)
Group D: Benfica (POR), Inter (ITA), Salzburg (AUT), Real Sociedad (ESP)
Group E: Feyenoord (NED), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Lazio (ITA), Celtic (SCO)
Group F: PSG (FRA), Dortmund (GER), Milan (ITA), Newcastle (ENG)
Group G: Man City (ENG), Leipzig (GER), Red Star (SRB), Young Boys (SUI)
Group H: Barcelona (ESP), Porto (POR), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Antwerp (BEL)
