Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Champions League draw: Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and Man City learn 2019 Uefa group stage fate

The Premier League sides will be relatively pleased as they look to build on recent success on the continent

Miguel Delaney
Monaco
,Samuel Lovett
Thursday 29 August 2019 20:22 BST
Comments
Liverpool lift Champions League trophy after beating Spurs in Madrid

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Join us for LIVE coverage from Monte-Carlo, Monaco where the draw for the group stage of the 2019/20 Champions League has taken place.

Defending champions Liverpool have been drawn against Napoli, FC Salzburg and Genk in Group E while Premier League champions Manchester City will face Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta in Group C.

Group H sees Chelsea drawn with Ajax, Valencia and Lille while Tottenham Hotspur take on five-time European champions Bayern Munich and Olympiakos and Crvena Zvezda in Group B.

Champions League 2019/20 group stage draw preview:

When and where is the Champions League draw?

The draw will take place in Monaco on Thursday, August 29.

Expect proceedings should get underway at around 5pm.

How can I watch the draw?

The draw will be available to watch for free on Uefa’s official website with a live stream, while BT Sport will provide coverage and analysis across their platforms.

Alternatively Independent Football will have you covered with a live blog to follow on the move or at work.

Key dates

The play-offs will take place on August 20-21 and 27-28.

Matchday one of the group stage will take place on September 17-18.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 2019/20 Champions League group stage draw.

Vithushan Ehantharajah29 August 2019 09:57

Before we go any further, first things first: the pots. 

Pot one: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Zenit St Petersburg

Pot two: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham, Ajax, Benfica

Pot three: Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Salzburg, Olympiakos, Club Bruges, Valencia, Inter Milan, Dinamo Zagreb

Pot four: Lokomotiv Moscow, Genk, Galatasaray, RB Leipzig, Slavia Prague, Red Star Belgrade, Atalanta, Lille

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 10:25

What's that? How will the draw work? Let me explain, friends.

So, the top pot contains the two Uefa competition winners as well as the champions of the six highest-ranked nations. That means Liverpool and Chelsea are joined by Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Zenit St Petersburg.

The remaining teams are then split across pots two to four by order of the club coefficient rankings.

No team can be drawn against a club from their own league.

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 10:32

Champions League calendar:

Matchday one: 17, 18 September

Matchday two: 1, 2 October

Matchday three: 22, 23 October 

Matchday four: 5, 6 November

Matchday five: 26, 27 November

Matchday six: 10, 11 December:

Round of 16 draw: 16 December

Round of 16 first legs: 18, 19, 25, 26 February

Round of 16 second legs: 10, 11, 17, 18 March

Quarter-finals and semi-finals draw: 20 March

Quarter-finals first leg: 7, 8 April

Quarter-finals second leg: 14, 15 April

Semi-finals first leg: 28, 29 April

Semi-finals second leg: 5, 6 May

Final: 30 May

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 10:37

Awks...

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 10:44

'Why are Man City in the hat when Uefa ban looms over this season’s competition?'

Tony Evans has the answers and takes a look at what comes next for Pep Guardiola's club:

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 10:51

All 32 teams in this evenings’s group stage draw ranked and rated:

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 10:57

NEW BALL ALERT!

Admittedly, it's a tad garish and kinda looks like a Champions League mascot has thrown up on it. But, you know what, I like it. There, I said it. Cuff me.

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 11:03

This is the sort of content I'm here for. Self-deprecation at its finest. Kudos, lads.

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 11:10

Chief football writer Miguel Delaney has taken a deep dive into Tottenham's current struggles. Here, he asks what is exactly going on behind closed doors at the club:

Samuel Lovett29 August 2019 11:30

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in