It seems like yesterday we watched Bayern Munich lift the Champions League trophy in Lisbon but the draw for the 2020/21 competition takes place on Thursday.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the final qualifiers took place and we now know the 32 clubs who will compete in this season’s edition.
The draws for the Champions League and Europa League were due to take place in Greece but it’s now been to Switzerland and be conducted behind closed doors.
The tournament will begin on October 20 and, despite it starting about a month later than usual, UEFA are hoping for a normal format – albeit slightly compressed. The final is scheduled to take place at the Ataturk Stadium in Turkey on May 29.
But with the coronavirus pandemic ever-changing, the protocols and quarantine measures will have to be carefully monitored to ensure every fixture is played safely.
Here, we will answer a few questions about the draw and reveal the finalised pots for the 2020/21 competition.
Where is the Champions League draw?
As we mentioned, the location of the draw has been changed from Greece to Switzerland.
A UEFA statement said: “Following a series of talks with the Greek authorities, Uefa today announced its decision to relocate the upcoming European Club Football Season Kick-Off from Athens, Greece, to Switzerland, on 1 and 2 October 2020.
“The event comprises the draws for the group stage of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions and Uefa Europa League, as well as the awards to the best players and coaches of the 2019/20 season.
“In spite of the globally acknowledged effective handling of the Covid-19 pandemic by the Greek authorities, all parties agreed that the top priority must remain public health and that it currently would not be possible to organise an event of such size with guests in Athens, as it would violate public health restrictions and constraints regarding indoor events.
“The events – which will be broadcast across the globe – will take place behind closed doors (with no club representatives or media, but with awards winners).”
When is the Champions League draw?
It will take place on Thursday 1 October, with the Europa League group stage draw taking place on Friday 2 October.
What time is the Champions League draw?
The ceremony will start at 5pm BST with the draw taken place shortly afterwards.
How can I watch it?
It will be shown live on BT Sport 1, btsport.com and the BT Sport app from 3:45pm.
It will also be shown on the Uefa.com website at 4:00pm.
Which teams are in the draw?
Here are the final pots. One club from each pot will make up a group and teams from the same nation can’t be drawn against each other in the group stage.
Pot 1: Bayern Munich, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Porto
Pot 2: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Ajax
Pot 3: Dynamo Kyiv, Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig, Inter Milan, Olympiacos, Lazio, Krasnodar, Atalanta
Pot 4: Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, Club Brugge, Borussia Monchengladbach, Istanbul Basaksehir, Rennes, Ferencvaros
What are the best/worst-case scenarios for English clubs?
Liverpool
Best-case scenario: Shakhtar Donetsk, Krasnodar and Ferencvaros
Worst-case scenario: Barcelona, Inter Milan and Marseille
Manchester United
Best-case scenario: Zenit Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar and Ferencvaros
Worst-case scenario: Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Marseille
Manchester City
Best-case scenario: Zenit Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar and Ferencvaros
Worst-case scenario: Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Marseille
Chelsea
Best-case scenario: Zenit Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar and Ferencvaros
Worst-case scenario: Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Marseille
Champions League schedule
Group stage
20/21 October: Matchday 1
27/28 October: Matchday 2
3/4 November: Matchday 3
24/25 November: Matchday 4
1/2 December: Matchday 5
8/9 December: Matchday 6
Round of 16
16/17/23/24 February: Round of 16 first legs
9/10/16/17 March: Round of 16 second legs
Quarter-finals
6/7 April: First legs
13/14 April: Second legs
Semi-finals
27/28 April: First legs
4/5 May: Second legs
Final
29 May: Champions League final
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