UEFA draw update

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?

Watch Liverpool's 2019 final triumph

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.