The draw for the group stage in the Champions League will take place in Monaco on Thursday (08/31/2023) from 6 p.m. We answer the most important questions and, among other things, look at who the German teams can meet.
In which lot are the teams from Germany?
32 teams compete in the group stage, divided into four pots. FC Bayern Munich belongs to the first pot of favorites and champions of the five top leagues according to the UEFA coefficient. Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are in pot two, which also includes top teams like Real Madrid. As a newcomer, Union Berlin threatens a group full of top-class opponents in pot four.
Who can the German teams meet?
Even Bayern could face an extremely difficult group stage. In addition to Real, local rivals Atletico Madrid are in pot two, as are Manchester United, Arsenal FC and Inter Milan, which only lost to Manchester City in the final last season. In the third pot there are also quite formidable opponents with FC Salzburg, AC Milan and Lazio Rome. In addition to Union, only RC Lens is currently in the fourth pot, the remaining teams will still qualify. Pot three is not yet complete either.
A team can only have one opponent drawn from one nation. It is therefore not possible, for example, for BVB to meet the Italians SSC Napoli and AC Milan. This is what the pots look like:
| team | nation | |
|---|---|---|
Bayern Munich | Germany | |
Manchester City | England | |
Barcelona FC | Spain | |
FC Seville | Spain | |
SSC Naples | Italy | |
Paris St Germain | France | |
Benfica Lisbon | Portugal | |
Feyenoord Rotterdam | Netherlands |
| team | nation | |
|---|---|---|
Borussia Dortmund | Germany | |
RB Leipzig | Germany | |
Manchester United | England | |
Arsenal FC | England | |
real Madrid | Spain | |
Atlético Madrid | Spain | |
Inter Milan | Italy | |
FC Porto | Portugal |
| team | nation | |
|---|---|---|
AC Milan | Italy | |
Lazio Rome | Italy | |
FC Salzburg | Austria | |
Shakhtar Donetsk | Ukraine | |
Red Star Belgrade | Serbia | |
open | ||
open | ||
open |
| team | nation | |
|---|---|---|
Union Berlin | Germany | |
RC Lens | France | |
open | ||
open | ||
open | ||
open | ||
open | ||
open |
When are the games held?
| Gameday | Date | |
|---|---|---|
1. | 19/20 September | |
2. | 3rd/4th October | |
3. | 24th/25th October | |
4. | 7th/8th November | |
5. | 28/29 November | |
6. | 12./13. December | |
round of 16 | 1st leg 13th-21st February / second leg 5.-13. March | |
Quarterfinals | First leg 9th/10th April / second leg 16./17. April | |
semifinals | First leg 30 April/1 May / second leg 7./8. May | |
Final in London | June 1st |
Where are the games broadcast?
DAZN shows almost all games live in the stream, on Amazon Prime you can see the top game on Tuesday on every game day. ZDF broadcasts the final live on free TV. On sportschau.de there is a live ticker for all games in the Champions League, you can follow games with German participation live in the audio stream.
Where does Shakhtar Donetsk play?
Due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the club is unable to play at home. But Donetsk has already found an alternative location and will play its home games in Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion.
How much money is there for participants?
Those who are in the Champions League can already look forward to 15.64 million euros. There is a further 2.8 million euros for a win in the group phase and 0.93 million euros for a draw. The bonus for reaching the round of 16 is 9.6 million euros, for the quarter-finals there is 10.6 million euros and for the semi-finals 12.5 million euros. The winner of the final not only lifts the handle pot in the air, but also gets 20 million euros transferred to the account. The “consolation prize” for the final loser is a payment of 15.5 million euros.