Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will find themselves on the same stage during the first Democratic primary debate, NBC News revealed when it announced the line-ups for the two-night event.

Ten candidates will be on stage each night in Miami.

Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Julian Castro, Tim Ryan, Bill de Blasio, and Jay Inslee will be on stage together June 26.

Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Michael Bennet, Marianne Williamson, Eric Swalwell, Kirsten Gillibrand, Andrew Yang, and John Hickenlooper will share the stage on the second night, June 27.

Former Vice President Joe Biden will debate on night two of the first primary debate

Bernie Sanders will be on stage with him in a clash of the front runners

Candidates try to use debates to have a break-out moment, using a quip or a quote to garner national attention that could bring in dollars and increase their poll numbers.

On the first night, Warren is likely to be the target of the other contenders as they battle it out for support of the progressive wing of the party.

Booker, Warner, de Blasio and O'Rourke in particular have been touting their liberal credentials on the campaign trail.

Delaney mentioned Warren by name when he said he was delighted to be 'sharing the debate stage with many strong candidates, particularly Senator Warren who, like me, is talking about new ideas.'

On the second night, the likely target will be Biden, who leading the battle for the nomination.

Dem Debate Lineup June 26 Cory Booker Elizabeth Warren Beto O'Rourke Amy Klobuchar John Delaney Tulsi Gabbard Julian Castro Tim Ryan Bill de Blasio Jay Inslee June 27 Bernie Sanders Kamala Harris Joe Biden Pete Buttigieg Michael Bennet Marianne Williamson Eric Swalwell Kirsten Gillibrand Andrew Yang John Hickenlooper Advertisement

He and Sanders have led the polls thus far - setting up a clash of the front runners.

Biden has already started to see fire from his rivals, particularly over his support for the Hyde Amendment - legislation that forbids federal funds to be used for abortion - a stance later reversed after the criticism from Democratic faithful.

Harris and Buttigieg have been fighting to move up to the first tier of candidates while Gillibrand is struggling to gain traction in the field.

But millennials have become enamored of Yang and Williamson - either of whom could have a moment on the debate stage.

While the focus will be on the fight for the Democratic nomination, expect President Donald Trump to be an ominous presence on the stage both nights.

All the contenders have found ways to blast the president on the campaign trail and that's likely to continue on debate night.

The drawing for the debate line up was done at 30 Rock - NBC News' New York City headquarters - on Friday after the Democratic National Committee announced which 20 contenders made the first debate.

It was a manual, in-person drawing and each campaign was invited to attend it along with DNC officials, NBC News said of the event.

A representative from NBC News Standards & Practices conducted the draw.

Candidates were divided into two groups: those who polled above average of 2 per cent and those who polled below.

A random draw then took place, pulling from each of the respective group to create two separate groupings of 10.

The Democratic Party said it wanted to spread the frontrunners and lower-tier candidates out so there is no perception of a 'lesser' or 'junior' debate as there was in the 2016 Republican presidential primary, when a second debate night was organized for candidates not garnering as high poll numbers.

'The purpose of that is to be consistent with our principle of trying to be fair to everybody but also, it gets to the point of your question, so that we have maximum eyeballs both nights,' DNC Chairman Tom Perez told NBC News.

NBC News announce the candidate podium placements at a later date.

Each debate will last two hours.

That 120 minutes - with commercial breaks - will not give the 10 contenders - and the five debate moderators - a lot of time to talk.

Elizabeth Warren is likely to be the target on the night of the first debate

Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg will be on stage with Biden and Sanders

The 24 Democrats running: (L-R top row) Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bennet and Mike Gravel. (L-R middle row): Beto O'Rourke, Tulsi Gabbard, John Delaney, Eric Swalwell, Tim Ryan, Seth Moulton, Julian Castro and Joe Biden. (L-R bottom row): Pete Buttigieg, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, Wayne Messam, Steve Bullock and Bill de Blasio

On Thursday, the DNC announced the 20 contenders who made the debate - leaving four candidates off the stage for the biggest platform of the primary contest thus far.

Gov. Steve Bullock, Rep. Seth Moulton, Mayor Wayne Messam, and former Gov. Mike Gravel did not make the event.

Debates can be a game-changer for second and third-tier candidates struggling with fundraising and national attention.

A break-out moment on stage against the Democratic competition could boost a candidate's profile in the crowded field - leading to a fundraising boost, more media time and a bump in the polls.

Biden, who is the front runner for the nomination, said it was going to be difficult to have a genuine debate with so many contenders.

'It's an exaggeration to suggest there's going to be any real depth about what we're going to be able to get into,' he told reporters in Iowa Wednesday.