LIVE: The path to Champions League glory for 32 clubs will be revealed overnight when the group stage draw takes place at 2am AEST in Istanbul. Follow the live blog below!
Real Madrid claimed the trophy for a record-extending 14th time last season with a 1-0 win over Liverpool – and the two European giants could meet in the group stage, given they are placed in different pots for the draw.
There is plenty of interest for Australian fans, with the Australian trio of Socceroos star Aaron Mooy and coaches Ange Postecoglou and Harry Kewell at Scottish giants Celtic set to return to the group stages for the first time since 2017/18.
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“They will be good teams – it’s fair to say they will be decent sides,” Postecoglou said of Celtic’s potential group-stage opponents.
“We’re looking forward to it, it’s exciting. I know that come Thursday we’re going to have all our supporters glued to the TV set in anticipation.
“It’s where we should be. It’s where this football club needs to be. I have a responsibility to make sure we are there and we are there to make an impact.
“No doubt when we see the draw there are going to be some exciting ties and some memorable occasions for everyone involved in this football club – whether you are a player or staff, manager or supporter.
“Celtic Park Champions League nights are unforgettable, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Last season, Celtic bombed out in Champions League qualifying but managed to qualify for the second-tier Europa League, but failed to make it out of the group stage.
Having automatically qualified for the Champions League group stage this time around, attention turns to which clubs they will face – and there’s no doubt that will include some brutal tests.
Celtic will be placed in Pot Four as one of the weakest teams based on UEFA’s club coefficient, which ranks clubs based off their results in European competition in the past five years.
That means they will face one team from each of Pots One, Two, and Three. Each of the eight groups of four clubs can also only have one team from each nation.
Pot One includes heavyweight teams like Real Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich – all champions of their respective domestic leagues last season.
Pot Two doesn’t get much easier, with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Juventus, and Barcelona.
Pot Three features clubs like last year’s Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund and third-placed club Bayer Leverkusen, and Italian giants Napoli and Inter Milan.
The full list of clubs from each pot is included below.
LIVE BLOG
Follow all the action in our live blog below. If you can’t see the blog, click here.
AUSSIES IN ACTION
Besides Aaron Mooy at Celtic, there are a number of other Socceroos stars in this year’s competition.
Socceroos captain and keeper Mat Ryan and his FC Copenhagen side reached the group stage after successfully fighting their way through qualifying.
Striker Nikita Rukavytsya and his Maccabi Haifa team from Israel also will feature after winning through qualifying – ranked as the lowest club in the tournament by far with a club coefficient of 169th in Europe!
Midfielder Ajdin Hrustic scored a penalty for his German club Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League last season, with victory in that second-tier competition booking them a place in Pot One for the Champions League draw. But Hrustic has been frozen out of the side and looks likely to leave the club (though moving to a Champions League rival is a definite possibility).
FULL POTS
Pot One(Reigning Champions League and Europa League winners plus league champions of six strongest leagues)
Real Madrid (ESP, holders)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER, Europa League winners)
Manchester City (ENG)
AC Milan (ITA)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
FC Porto (POR)
Ajax (NED)
Pot Two
Liverpool (ENG)
Chelsea (ENG)
Barcelona (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Sevilla (ESP)
RB Leipzig (GER)
Tottenham (ENG)
Pot Three
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
RB Salzburg (AUT)
Shakhtar Donestk (UKR)
Inter Milan (ITA)
Napoli (ITA)
Benfica (POR)
Sporting CP (POR)
Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Pot Four
Rangers (SCO)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Olympique Marseille (FRA)
FC Copenhagen (DEN)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Celtic (SCO)
Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Maccabi Haifa (ISR)
FIXTURES (local/European times)
Group stage
Matchday 1: 6–7 September 2022
Matchday 2: 13–14 September 2022
Matchday 3: 4–5 October 2022
Matchday 4: 11–12 October 2022
Matchday 5: 25–26 October 2022
Matchday 6: 1–2 November 2022
Knockout phase
Round of 16: 14/15/21/22 February & 7/8/14/15 March 2023
Quarter-finals: 11–12 & 18–19 April 2023
Semi-finals: 9–10 & 16–17 May 2023
Final: 10 June 2023
