When and where is the draw?



The 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony begins at 18:00 CEST on Thursday 29 August. It takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and will be streamed live on UEFA.com.

Who is involved in the draw?

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ESP: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Valencia

ENG: Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur

ITA: Juventus, Napoli, Internazionale Milano, Atalanta

GER: Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig

FRA: Paris, Lyon, LOSC Lille

RUS: Zenit, Lokomotiv Moskva

POR: Benfica

UKR: Shakhtar Donetsk

BEL: Club Brugge, Genk

TUR: Galatasaray

AUT: Salzburg

GRE: Olympiacos

CZE: Slavia Praha

NED: Ajax

CRO: GNK Dinamo

SRB: Crvena zvezda

What are the draw pots?

Pot 1

Liverpool (ENG, holders)

Chelsea (ENG, UEFA Europa League winners)

Barcelona (ESP)

Manchester City (ENG)

Juventus (ITA)

Bayern (GER)

Paris (FRA)

Zenit (RUS)

Pot 2

Real Madrid (ESP) coefficient 146.000

Atlético Madrid (ESP) 127.000

Borussia Dortmund (GER) 85.000

Napoli (ITA) 80.000

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 80.000

Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) 78.000

Ajax (NED) 70.500

Benfica (POR) 68.000

Pot 3

Lyon (FRA) 61.500

Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 61.000

Salzburg (AUT) 54.500

Olympiacos (GRE) 44.000

Club Brugge (BEL) 39.500

Valencia (ESP) 37.000

Internazionale Milano (ITA) 31.000

GNK Dinamo (CRO) 29.500

Pot 4

Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) 28.500

Genk (BEL) 25.000

Galatasaray (TUR) 22.500

RB Leipzig (GER) 22.000

Slavia Praha (CZE) 21.500

Crvena zvezda (SRB) 16.750

Atalanta (ITA) 14.945

LOSC Lille (FRA) 11.699

The draw takes place in Monaco ©Getty Images

Clubs' coefficients are determined either by the sum of all points won in the previous five years or by the association coefficient over the same period – whichever is higher (under a new system introduced for 2018/19 onwards).

How does the draw work?

The 26 teams given direct entry to the group stage under the competition system introduced in 2018/19 are joined by the six winners of the play-off ties.

The teams are split into four seeding pots. Pot 1 consists of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations. Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings.

No team can play a club from their own association and, based on decisions taken by the UEFA Executive Committee, clubs from Russia and Ukraine must not be drawn in the same group.

In the case of associations with two or more representatives, clubs will be paired in order to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday. If a paired club is drawn, for example, in Groups A, B, C or D, the other paired club – once drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of Groups E, F, G or H.

The draw also establishes the groups for the UEFA Champions League path of the UEFA Youth League.

UEFA awards

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The following award winners will also be announced during the draw ceremony:

Season calendar



17/18 September: group stage, matchday one

1/2 October: group stage, matchday two

22/23 October: group stage, matchday three

5/6 November: group stage, matchday four

26/27 November: group stage, matchday five

10/11 December: group stage, matchday six

16 December: round of 16 draw

18/19/25/26 February: round of 16, first leg

10/11/17/18 March: round of 16, second leg

20 March: quarter-final & semi-final draw

7/8 April: quarter-finals, first leg

14/15 April: quarter-finals, second leg

28/29 April: semi-finals, first leg

5/6 May: semi-finals, second leg

Saturday 30 May: final – Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı, Istanbul

