The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage is right around the corner, but before the action kicks off in September, the draw will take place on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey. The 32 teams qualified for the group stage will be divided into eight groups of four, and there is potential for more than one group of death. Could you imagine a group of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Celtic? How about Manchester City, Barcelona, Dortmund and Rangers or PSV? The possibilities are enticing for viewers, but not so much for teams hoping for a clear path into the knockout stage.
This draw will be airing live on CBS Sports HQ, and you can access the 24/7 streaming sports news network on Paramount+, CBSSports.com, Pluto TV and the CBS Sports app on mobile and streaming devices.
Paramount+ will also be your home for all UEFA Champions League matches, Europa League, Conference League and more.
CBSSports.com will also provide coverage during the draw, including results and analysis on Thursday.
Here’s what to know:
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Aug. 25 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Live stream: Paramount+ (Try it free) and CBS Sports HQ
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Host: Poppy Miller
Analysts: Ian Joy, Luis Garcia, Jimmy Conrad and Fabrizio Romano
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What rules are there for the draw?
There will be four seeding pots, with the first one consisting of the six highest-ranked league champions and the winners of UCL and EL. Pots 2 to 4 will be determined via the club coefficient rankings.
When forming the groups, no team can play another from its own association in the group stage, meaning two teams from England, for example, cannot be in the same group.
Champions League Group Stage Pots
Pot 1
- Real Madrid
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Manchester City
- AC Milan
- Bayern Munich
- PSG
- Porto
- Ajax
Pot 2
- Liverpool
- Chelsea
- Barcelona
- Juventus
- Atletico Madrid
- Sevilla
- RB Leipzig
- Tottenham
Pot 3
- Borussia Dortmund
- RB Salzburg
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Inter Milan
- Napoli
- Sporting Lisbon
- Bayern Leverkusen
- Olympic Marseille
Pot 4
- Club Brugge
- Celtic
- Maccabi Haifa
- Copenhagen or Trabzonspor
- Bodo/Glimt or Dinamo Zagreb
- Viktoria Plzen
- Rangers or PSV
- Benfica
Group stage matchdays
- Matchday 1: Sept. 6-7
- Matchday 2: Sept. 13-14
- Matchday 3: Oct. 4-5
- Matchday 4: Oct. 11-12
- Matchday 5: Oct. 25-26
- Matchday 6: Nov. 1-2
How to watch Europa League draw
Date: Friday, Aug. 26 | Time: 7 a.m. ET
Live stream: Paramount+ (Try it free) and CBS Sports HQ
What rules are there for the draw?
There are four pots of eight, similar to UCL, and there will also be eight groups with four teams each. One team from each seeding pot will be in each group. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.
Qualified teams
- Roma
- Manchester United
- Arsenal
- Lazio
- Braga
- Feyenoord
- Rennes
- Real Sociedad
- Real Betis
- Union Berlin
- Freiburg
- Nantes
- Monaco
- Sturm Graz
- Union Saint-Gilloise
- Midtjylland
Group stage matchdays
- Matchday 1: Sept. 8
- Matchday 2: Sept. 15
- Matchday 3: Oct. 6
- Matchday 4: Oct. 13
- Matchday 5: Oct. 27
- Matchday 6: Nov. 3