Rangers were among the teams to book their place in the draw, knocking out PSV Eindhoven. They are now among Liverpool’s potential group stage opponents. The Reds came agonizingly close to becoming European champions for a seventh time last season after narrowly losing to Real Madrid in Paris. Jurgen Klopp, however, was adamant his side will reach another Champions League final sooner rather than later, telling fans to “close the hotel” for next year immediately after their defeat by Carlo Ancelotti’s side. The fact that this season’s final will be held in Istanbul makes it even more nostalgic! The group stage draw is coming up, with Liverpool in pot 2 – so when will it take place and who could the Reds face in the early stages of the competition?
Champions League Group Stage
Place 1: Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester City*, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, PSG, Porto, Ajax Place 2: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Leipzig, Tottenham Place 3: Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica Pot 4: Marseille, Club Brugge, Celtic, Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa, Dinamo Zagreb or Bodo/Glimt, Rangers, FC Copenhagen.
- Cannot be drawn in the group stage.
When and where does the draw take place?
The draw will be held in Istanbul on Thursday, August 25 at 5 pm. (BST) and will be broadcast live on the UEFA website and BT Sport (UK).
Schedule of group stages
1st matchday: September 6/7 2nd matchday: September 13/14 Game 3: October 4/5 4th matchday: October 11/12 Game 5: October 25/26 6th matchday: November 1/2 The group stage usually continues in December, but this season, due to the World Cup, all six matches will be played within eight weeks. The knockout stages will follow in 2023, with the round of 16 starting in mid-February.
