What Time Is The Ucl Draw

What time is Champions League draw? UK start time, pots, TV channel and live stream details

The draw to determine which sides will meet in the Champions League group stage takes place on Thursday afternoon, as Premier League titans Chelsea look to retain their crown as European champions, with Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool all bidding for glory also

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Chelsea will aim to secure their third Champions League as they bid to retain their crown with the added boost of summer signing Romelu Lukaku.

Blues boss Thomas Tuchel guided the West London outfit to European glory less than six months after he was appointed, beating fellow Premier League outfit Manchester City in the final.

However, trying to win the competition this year could prove even harder, given City have armed themselves with Jack Grealish and Manchester United with Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

Paris Saint-Germain will also look to make history by winning their first Champions League crown, though the pressure is on after securing the signature of six-time Ballon D'or winner Lionel Messi.

And the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich can never truly be discounted either.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of today's draw...

Thomas Tuchel guided Chelsea to the second Champions League crown in their history (

Image:

POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

What time is the Champions League group stage draw?

The Champions League group stage draw will take place on Thursday, August 26 in Istanbul.

It will begin at 5pm UK time - 6pm CET and 7pm in Turkey.

How can I watch the Champions League group stage draw?

The Champions League draw is live on BT Sport 1, coverage begins at 4:45pm.

If you can't watch it via a television, the draw is available to stream live via the BT Sport app or the UEFA website.

This year's Champions League draw will take place in Istanbul (

Image:

UEFA via Getty Images)

Can I watch the draw for free?

Via the Uefa website, the stream will be free to watch for all while viewers with an EE phone contract can get a free trial of BT Sport to tune in.

How does the draw work?

The eight groups will be made up of a team from each pot.

Pot one contains the reigning Champions League and Europa League holders, as well as the league champions of the six highest-ranked nations - Spain, England, Italy, France, Russia and Portugal.

The remaining 24 teams in pots two-four are ranked by their individual coefficient rankings, which are based on the clubs' results in the Champions League and Europa League over the past five seasons.

Two clubs from the same country cannot be drawn against each other during the group stage, even if they go into the draw in different pots.

What teams are in the Champions League group stage draw?

Pot 1

Chelsea (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP)
Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Manchester City (ENG)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Lille (FRA)
Sporting CP (POR)

Pot 2

Real Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Liverpool (ENG)
Sevilla (ESP)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Pot 3

Porto (POR)
Ajax (NED)
RB Leipzig (GER)
Atalanta (ITA)
Zenit Saint Petersburg (RUS)
Benfica (POR)
RB Salzburg (AUT)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

Pot 4

AC Milan (ITA)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Young Boys (SUI)
Malmo (SWE)
Besiktas (TUR)
Dynamo Kiev (UKR)
Sheriff Tiraspol (MOL)

Champions League group-stage fixture dates

Matchday 1 | 14/15 September
Matchday 2 | 28/29 September
Matchday 3 | 19/20 October
Matchday 4 | 2/3 November
Matchday 5 | 23/24 November
Matchday 6 | 7/8 December