Watch Uefa Champions League Draw Online

When is the UEFA Champions League group stage draw? Live stream, time, TV channel, pots, how to watch online

Here's everything to know about Thursday's draw

Aug 26, 2021 at 1:13 pm ET 1 min read

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The UEFA Champions League 32-team group stage field is now set for the 2021-22 season. But before action can get underway in September, the 32 teams have to be placed into eight groups during Thursday's draw in Turkey. The draw will air live on CBS Sports HQ and CBS Sports Network, and we'll be providing analysis of the draw on CBSSports.com. Every UEFA Champions League match this season will be available on Paramount+.

Ahead of the draw, here's everything you need to know:

How to watch

Date: Thursday, Aug. 26 |Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Live stream: CBS Sports HQ | TV channel: CBS Sports Network

Who is involved?

Twenty-six teams already qualified for the group stage thanks to their success from a season ago. Six additional teams have booked their spots this week in the UCL play-offs. Here they are, including the Champions League winners Chelsea and Europa League winners Villarreal, with three spots up for grabs Wednesday.

England: Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Sevilla
Germany: Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Atalanta
Portugal:Sporting Lisbon, Benfica and Porto
France: PSG and Lille
Netherlands: Ajax
Turkey: Besiktas
Russia: Zenit
Ukraine: Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk
Belgium: Club Brugge
Switzerland: Young Boys
Sweden: Malmo
Austria: RB Salzburg
Moldova: Sheriff

What rules are there for the draw?

There will be four seeding pots, with the first one consisting of the six highest-ranked league champions and the winners of UCL and EL. Pots 2 to 4 will be determined via the club coefficient rankings.

When forming the groups, no team can play another from its own association in the group stage, meaning two teams from England, for example, cannot be in the same group. There are often other restrictions, such as teams from Ukraine and Russia not being grouped together due to the longstanding political and military tensions stemming from the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

What are the pots?

Pot 1

Chelsea
Villarreal
Bayern Munich
Manchester City
Atletico Madrid
Inter Milan
Sporting Lisbon
Lille

Pot 2

Real Madrid
Barcelona
Juventus
Manchester United
PSG
Liverpool
Sevilla
Dortmund

Pot 3

FC Porto
Ajax
Shakhtar Donetsk
RB Leipzig
RB Salzburg
Benfica
Atalanta
Zenit

Pot 4

Besiktas
Dynamo Kiev
Club Brugge
Young Boys
AC Milan
Malmo
Wolfsburg
Sheriff

Have matchdays been decided for the group stage?

Yes, they are as follows:

Matchday 1: Sept. 14-15
Matchday 2: Sept. 28-29
Matchday 3: Oct. 19-20
Matchday 4: Nov. 2-3
Matchday 5: Nov. 23-24
Matchday 6: Dec. 7-8

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