Champions League group stage draw: all you need to know

Thursday, October 1, 2020

When was the draw? Who was involved? Get the lowdown.

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw will take place on 1 October ©UEFA

When and where was the draw?

The 2020/21 UEFA Champions League group stage draw took place on Thursday 1 October at the RTS studios in Geneva.

Group stage line-up

Who was involved in the draw?

Top ten goals of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season

ESP (4): Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla
ENG (4): Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea
ITA (4): Juventus, Internazionale Milano, Atalanta, Lazio
GER (4): Bayern, Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Borussia Mönchengladbach
FRA (3): Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Rennes
RUS (3): Zenit, Lokomotiv Moskva, Krasnodar*
UKR (2): Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv*
POR (1): Porto
BEL (1): Club Brugge
NED (1): Ajax
AUT (1): Salzburg*
TUR (1): İstanbul Başakşehir
DEN (1): Midtjylland*
GRE (1): Olympiacos*
HUN (1): Ferencváros*

*via play-offs

2020/21 Champions League calendar

What are the draw pots?

Highlights: Paris 0-1 Bayern

Pot 1

Bayern (GER, UEFA Champions League holders)
Sevilla (ESP, UEFA Europa League holders)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Liverpool (ENG)
Juventus (ITA)
Paris (FRA)
Zenit (RUS)
Porto (POR)

Pot 2

Barcelona (ESP) coefficient 128.000
Atlético de Madrid (ESP) 127.000
Manchester City (ENG) 116.000
Manchester United (ENG) 100.000
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 85.000
Dortmund (GER) 85.000
Chelsea (ENG) 83.000
Ajax (NED) 69.500

Pot 3

Leipzig made it to the 2019/20 semi-fnalsGetty Images

Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)* 55.000
Salzburg (AUT)* 53.500
RB Leipzig (GER) 49.000
Internazionale Milano (ITA) 44.000
Olympiacos (GRE)* 43.000
Lazio (ITA) 41.000
Krasnodar (RUS)* 35.500
Atalanta (ITA) 33.500

Pot 4

Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS) 33.000
Marseille (FRA) 31.000
Club Brugge (BEL) 28.500
Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER) 26.000
İstanbul Başakşehir (TUR) 21.500
Midtjylland (DEN)* 14.500
Rennes (FRA) 14.000
Ferencváros (HUN)* 9.000

*Qualified via play-offs

Club 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.

How does the draw work?

The 26 teams given direct entry to the group stage were joined by the six winners of the play-off ties decided on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The teams will be 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 who did not qualify via one of the 2019/20 titles . Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings.
No team can play a club from their own association.
In the case of associations with two representatives, clubs have been paired in order to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday. In the case of associations with four representatives, two pairings were made. These pairings were based on TV audiences.

Which clubs are paired?

To ensure that paired clubs from the same country play on separate days where possible, the eight groups will be distinguished by colour: Groups A to D will be red and Groups E to H will be blue. When a paired club is drawn, for example, in one of the red groups (A, B, C or D), the other paired club – once it has been drawn – will automatically be assigned to one of the four blue groups (E, F, G or H). The pairings are as follows:

A Bayern & Dortmund
B Sevilla & Atlético de Madrid
C Real Madrid & Barcelona
D Liverpool & Man. United
E Juventus & Inter
F Paris & Marseille
G Zenit & Lokomotiv
H Man. City & Chelsea
I Shakhtar & Dynamo Kyiv
J RB Leipzig & Mönchengladbach
K Lazio & Atalanta

UEFA awards

Virgil van Dijk was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year in 2019AFP via Getty Images

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

When will fixtures be confirmed?

The full fixture list for the group stage will be communicated on Friday evening after taking into account the calendars of participating clubs and stakeholders.

Match dates

Matchday 1: 20/21 October
Matchday 2: 27/28 October
Matchday 3: 3/4 November
Matchday 4: 24/25 November
Matchday 5: 1/2 December
Matchday 6: 8/9 December

Draws are provisional and are subject to final confirmation from UEFA.