After a thrilling summer of football action, the spotlight will shift to the upcoming 2023-24 UEFA Champions League. The eminent clubs from the premier European leagues are gearing up to contend for the ultimate continental honor. Their journey begins with the group stage, the August 31, 2023 draw.
Powerhouses Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Barcelona eagerly anticipate the draw, anxious to discover their opponents for the group stage. In addition, newcomers Newcastle United, Lens, and Union Berlin are eagerly embracing their maiden European expedition following their qualification last season. The draw event will involve 32 teams segregated into four pots of eight. These teams will then be drawn into eight groups, each comprising four teams.
Teams involved in the Champions League 2023-24 group stage
The 2023-24 Champions League group stage draw takes place on Thursday, August 31 in Monaco, France, following the preliminary round of qualifying matches that ends on Wednesday.
For the 2023-24 Champions League group stage, a total of 32 teams will participate. Among them, 26 teams have directly qualified, and six will join after the qualifying rounds. English side Manchester City go into the campaign as the defending champions and will also easily be among the Bettors favourites to retain the title.
The qualified teams are divided into four pots: Pot 1 includes defending champions, Europa League winners, and champions from the top six national leagues based on their UEFA country coefficients. The remaining pots are based on teams’ UEFA club coefficients.
The final members of Pot 3 and Pot 4 will be decided after the play-off matches, just before the draw. These 32 teams are organized into four pots based on seeding and then drawn randomly into eight groups. Importantly, teams from the same football association cannot be placed in the same group.
Group stage draw seeding pots
UEFA has revealed the seeding pots for the Champions League 2023-24 group stage draw, determining where most qualified teams will be placed in the upcoming tournament.
Following their victory against Inter Milan in the final, Manchester City is in Pot 1 as the titleholders. Alongside them is Europa League winner Sevilla. The rest of Pot 1 consists of champions from the top six European leagues by UEFA’s coefficient ranking. Feyenoord, the Dutch champions, also benefits due to Manchester City’s Premier League win.
Pot 2 features five former Champions League winners, including Real Madrid with 14 titles, and three-time champions Manchester United and Inter. The rest of the pots are organized based on teams’ UEFA coefficient scores.
The last two pots will be filled after qualifying rounds, affecting teams like Real Sociedad, Celtic, and Newcastle. Union Berlin and Lens find themselves in Pot 4 due to their limited Champions League experience.
