Champions League: Who can Real Madrid face in the group stage?
The Champions League returns next month and as always, Real Madrid will be relishing the opportunity to fight for their fourteenth European Cup. Los Blancos came short against Chelsea in the semi-final last season and will be hoping to build on that and go one step further.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2021/22 Champions League group-stage draw and who Real Madrid could face:
When is the Champions League 2021/22 group stage draw?
The Champions League 2021/22 group stage draw will take place on Thursday August 26, 2021. The draw proceedings will commence at 5pm BST (18.00 CET). UEFA will also present awards to the best players, teams and coaches of the 2020/21 competition.
How can I watch it?
The Champions League draw will be livestreamed on Uefa’s website.
How does the draw work and who could Real Madrid face?
The draw features 32 teams. The teams will be split into four pots. Pot 1 consists of the holders (Chelsea), the Europa League winners (Villarreal) and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations who did not qualify via one of the 2020/21 titles; Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings. No team can play a side from their own domestic league.
Group stage draw pots as things stand:
Pot 1: Chelsea, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Lille, Sporting Libson & Manchester City.
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, PSG, Liverpool, Sevilla & Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid are in Pot 2 so they cannot face any of the seven teams included.
Pot 3: FC Porto, RB Leipzig, Ajax, Atalanta, RB Salzburg, Benfica, Zenit Saint Petersburg & Shakhtar.
Real Madrid will be able to face any of the teams from Pot 3.
Pot 4: Club Brugge, AC Milan, Young Boys, Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev, Malmo, Wolfsburg & Sheriff Tiraspol.
Real Madrid will be able to face any of the teams from Pot 4.
When does the Champions League 2021/22 group stage start?
The Champions League 2021/22 group stage will kick-off with matches on Tuesday September 14 and Wednesday September 15.
Matchday 1: 14/15 September
Matchday 2: 28/29 September
Matchday 3: 19/20 October
Matchday 4: 2/3 November
Matchday 5: 23/24 November
Matchday 6: 7/8 December
