Champions League draw LIVE! Arsenal and Man United learn group stage opponents

Champions League draw LIVE!

The draw for the 2023-24 Champions League group stage is complete. Arsenal and Manchester City will be pleased with the size of the tasks handed to them, while Newcastle have been dropped in a true group of death.

Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan await the Magpies on their first run in the competition for over two decades. Sevilla, Lens and last season’s Europa League rivals PSV are on Arsenal’s agenda.

Harry Kane will make a swift return to England when his Bayern Munich side face Manchester United. Copenhagen and Galatasaray join them in Group A. Manchester City will defend their title against RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys.

Champions League draw updates

• Champions League draw in full

• When will the group stage be played?

Thanks for joining us!

18:04 , Marc Mayo

We have an intriguing Champions League group stage ahead of us, with Arsenal surely looking forward to their chances of getting past Sevilla, PSV and Lens.

The full schedule will be released by the weekend, so in the meantime stay tuned with Standard Sport for all the reaction to the Champions League draw.

Read the full story

Newcastle handed group of death

18:00 , Marc Mayo

It will be some welcome party for Newcastle on their return to the Champions League - they face PSG, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan!

Read the full story

Champions League draw in full

17:54 , Marc Mayo

Group A

• Bayern Munich

• Man Utd

• Copenhagen

• Galatasaray

Group B

• Sevilla

• Arsenal

• PSV

• Lens

Group C

• Napoli

• Real Madrid

• Braga

• Union Berlin

Group D

• Benfica

• Inter

• RB Salzburg

• Real Sociedad

Group E

• Feyenoord

• Atletico Madrid

• Lazio

• Celtic

Group F

• PSG

• Borussia Dortmund

• AC Milan

• Newcastle

Group G

• Man City

• RB Leipzig

• Red Star Belgrade

• Young Boys

Group H

• Barcelona

• Porto

• Shakhtar Donetsk

• Antwerp

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:52 , Marc Mayo

A formality for the last two teams...

Group E

Feyenoord

Atletico Madrid

Lazio

Celtic

Group H

Barcelona

Porto

Shakhtar Donetsk

Antwerp

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:51 , Marc Mayo

Lens are into Arsenal’s group...

Group B

Sevilla

Arsenal

PSV

Lens

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:50 , Marc Mayo

Young Boys, the Swiss champions, next up.

Group G

Man City

RB Leizpig

Red Star Belgrade

Young Boys

Such a tough one for City...

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:49 , Marc Mayo

Union Berlin face Real Madrid on their Champions League debut!

Group C

Napoli

Real Madrid

Braga

Union Berlin

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:48 , Marc Mayo

Galatasaray the third team out of Pot 4. They’ll face Man Utd.

Group A

Bayern Munich

Man Utd

Copenhagen

Galatasaray

Erik ten Hag won’t be upset about that

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:47 , Marc Mayo

Newcastle are out! It’s E, F or H...

Group F

PSG

Borussia Dortmund

AC Milan

Newcastle

That is a group of death!

Champions League draw: Pot 4

17:46 , Marc Mayo

Straight into the last part of the draw. First out the hat are Real Sociedad.

Group D

Benfica

Inter

RB Salzburg

Real Sociedad

Tough group to call that

Pot 4 - you’re up!

17:44 , Marc Mayo

Time to discover Newcastle’s opponents...

Pot 4: Newcastle, Union Berlin, Lens, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Celtic, Young Boys, Antwerp

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:43 , Marc Mayo

Last teams now and Copenhagen are with Man United. Braga drop into Group C.

Group A

Bayern Munich

Man Utd

Copenhagen

Group C

Napoli

Real Madrid

Braga

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:42 , Marc Mayo

Few more to go and it’s Lazio first out - it has to be Group E.

Group E

Feyenoord

Atletico Madrid

Lazio

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:41 , Marc Mayo

RB Salzburg can land in A, C or D...

Group D

Benfica

Inter

RB Salzburg

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:40 , Marc Mayo

Here come AC Milan, in one of two groups...

Into the group of death!

Group F

PSG

Borussia Dortmund

AC Milan

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:39 , Marc Mayo

PSV, after downing Rangers last night, must be in the first half of the draw - away from Feyenoord.

Just like last year... it’s Arsenal!

Group B

Sevilla

Arsenal

PSV

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:38 , Marc Mayo

Red Star Belgrade, Serbia’s top side, are pulled out by Joe Cole. All seven groups available for them.

Group G

Man City

RB Leipzig

Red Star Belgrade

Champions League draw: Pot 3

17:37 , Marc Mayo

First out are Shakhtar Donetsk, the top-ranked side in this pot according to the coefficients.

They’ll face Barcelona...

Group H

Barcelona

Porto

Shakhtar Donetsk

Pot 3 coming up!

17:35 , Marc Mayo

Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, Braga, PSV, FC Copenhagen

Champions League draw: Pot 2 complete

17:34 , Marc Mayo

Pot 2 is neatly finished with Porto having to go into Barcelona’s group and that means Real Madrid vs Napoli.

Group H

Barcelona

Porto

Group C

Napoli

Real Madrid

Champions League draw: Inter out next

17:33 , Marc Mayo

It has to be Group D for Inter.

Group D

Benfica

Inter

Champions League draw: RB Leipzig up next

17:33 , Marc Mayo

It’s a last-16 reunion with Man City!

Group G

Man City

RB Leipzig

Champions League draw: Man Utd out the hat

17:32 , Marc Mayo

Three possibilities, to avoid Arsenal’s half of the draw. It’s Bayern Munich!

Group A

Bayern Munich

Man Utd

Atletico Madrid next out

17:31 , Marc Mayo

Only two options for the Spaniards and they get Feyenoord. The plum tie, surely.

Group E

Feyenoord

PSG

Arsenal are into group...

17:30 , Marc Mayo

Joe Cole pulls out the Gunners and they’re into...

Group B

Sevilla

Arsenal

Borussia Dortmund first out

17:29 , Marc Mayo

Here comes the German side, who can go into the opposite side of the draw to Bayern Munich.

Group F

PSG

Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal, Man Utd and more next up!

17:27 , Marc Mayo

We got straight into Pot 2. Here’s where the real fun starts...

Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal

Pot 1 completed

17:26 , Marc Mayo

Feyenoord into Group E, PSG into Group F and Man City are allocated top spot in Group G.

That means, last but not least, Barcelona slot into Group H.

More Pot 1 teams drawn

17:24 , Marc Mayo

We rattle through this stage of the draw with Sevilla next out in Group B and Napoli the Italian champions in Group C.

Group D features Benfica.

Bayern Munich first out

17:23 , Marc Mayo

Harry Kane’s Germany champions are in Group A.

Pot 1 up first

17:22 , Marc Mayo

First up we’ll be drawing the champions of the best leagues in Europe, plus last year’s Europa League champions.

That’s Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Feyenoord.

Champions League draw

17:20 , Marc Mayo

A final reminder of how it all works, with clubs from the same country separated across the draw.

We have 32 teams, in eight groups and with four teams per group. Simples.

Here come the UEFA officials

17:17 , Marc Mayo

It’s your boy Giorgio Marchetti on the stage, UEFA’s deputy general secretary!

Champions League draw

17:15 , Marc Mayo

Joe Cole, whose former clubs including Chelsea and Liverpool aren’t actually in the draw today, regales us about sneaking into the old Wembley when he was a kid without a ticket.

“It’s a big job and a privilege to be working here, I want a favourable draw for all the English teams,” he says.

The road to Wembley

17:13 , Marc Mayo

Montage No2 brings us Eric Abidal and Joe Cole, who are two former footballers helping out in the draw and two players who are described as “knowing Wembley very well”.

Champions League draw

17:11 , Marc Mayo

We’ve had our first montage of the evening, a mock-up of players’ younger selves preparing for their big day before eventually a package of Man City winning last year’s final.

After that we go straight into what we’ve all been waiting for, a chat about City’s victory with director of football Txiki Begiristain in the audience.

Champions League draw

17:06 , Marc Mayo

Pedro Pinto and Reshmin Chowdhury are our presenters for the draw.

We’ll also have the UEFA Men and Women’s Player of the Year awards coming up later.

The ceremony begins

17:03 , Marc Mayo

A ‘Champions League Hymn’ gets us going at the Grimaldi Forum, a charming little ditty of the traditional anthem composed on piano and saxophone.

You didn’t think they were just going to start pulling balls out of hats at 5pm, did you?!

Countdown to the Champions League draw

17:01 , Marc Mayo

Here. We. Go!

We’re live in fabulous Monaco in the balmy August sun for the Champions League group stage draw.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Newcastle will all be handed their Champions League fate today - and the ceremony is about to begin!

The dignitaries are arriving

16:57 , Marc Mayo

The red carpet is awash with European football’s biggest suits with Javier Zanetti, Emiliano Butragueno, Luis Figo and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin among those popping up in Monaco.

Arsenal would settle for a similar draw to last time

16:55 , Marc Mayo

Back in 2016, when they were last in this scenario, Arsenal were handed PSG, Basel and Ludogorets in a group which they topped.

More of the same would suit Mikel Arteta down to the ground.

Man Utd look to prove themselves

16:53 , Marc Mayo

With their three recent sojourns to Europa League football ended in heartbreaking circumstances by Spanish sides, Manchester United are yet to truly assert themselves at this level.

Not since 2019 have they made the quarter-finals of the Champions League and, in truth, they haven’t looked capable of winning the thing in over a decade.

Best-case scenario: Feyenoord, Copenhagen, Lens

Group of death: Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad

Throwback: How last season’s Champions League final was won

16:50 , Marc Mayo

Big names missing from this draw

16:46 , Marc Mayo

From last year’s group stage draw, two teams from Pot 1 and three teams from Pot 2 are missing. Can you guess who?

Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt endured pretty miserable seasons last year while the trio from Pot 2 are all English: Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Sporting CP, Bayer Leverkusen and Rangers are also absent after their runs in 2022-23.

Returning faces

16:44 , Marc Mayo

Along with Arsenal, a number of top clubs who missed out last year are back in the Champions League.

Feyenoord return straight into Pot 1 as Dutch champions along with fellow countrymen PSV.

Turkish giants Galatasaray last made the group stage in 2019-20 while Lazio and Red Star Belgrade are old regulars of this realm.

Can the holders repeat the trick?

16:39 , Marc Mayo

Only once since Nottingham Forest in 1980 has a club defended their Champions League title, when Real Madrid won three in a row from 2016 to 2018.

That is exactly the task at hand for Manchester City this season, who also want to become the first English team ever to either win the quadruple and/or successfuly defend a treble.

Would you best against them?

Best-case scenario: Porto, Copenhagen, Lens

Group of death: Real Madrid, AC Milan, Celtic

The teams we lost last night

16:35 , Marc Mayo

The final make-up of the draw was only confirmed less than 24 hours ago with the final play-off ties.

PSV demolised Rangers 5-0 while Braga edged Panathinaikos to secure their places in Pot 3 out of the League Path.

In the Champions Path, Mauro Icardi scored as Galatasaray knocked out Molde and Young Boys saw out a big first-leg lead to down Maccabi Haifa.

There were also wins for Antwerp, over AEK Athens, and Copenhagen, who beat Polish minnows Rakow Czestochowa by a single goal.

Crank up the volume!

16:29 , Marc Mayo

Just 30 minutes until the draw begins...

Newcastle back in the big time

16:26 , Marc Mayo

It has been exactly 20 years since Newcastle stepped out in a Champions League game, although few would count their 2003 play-off defeat to Partizan Belgrade.

The year before, they finished an impressive third from a second group-stage draw featuring Barcelona, Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.

In Pot 4 today, a similarly tough draw could well greet them.

Best-case scenario: Feyenoord, Porto, Copenhagen

Group of death: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, AC Milan

Throwback: What Arsenal are capable of in the Champions League

16:20 , Marc Mayo

Never count out Real Madrid

16:15 , Marc Mayo

Jude Bellingham has just won the LaLiga Player of the Month award and will fancy making a big impact on Real Madrid’s favourite stage, too.

No club even comes close to the 14 times they have won this competition.

However, after finishing second in Spain last season they are the danger team in Pot 2.

Best-case scenario: Feyenoord, Copehagen, Lens

Group of death: Man City, RB Salzburg, Galatasaray

Arsenal hope for triumphant return

16:10 , Marc Mayo

Arsenal last played in the Champions League in 2016-17 but, in truth, they had laboured on the big stage for some time before that.

They return on a run of seven consecutive last-16 exits, all of which came under Arsene Wenger, with Nicklas Bentdner the hat-trick hero the last time they won a match in the first knockout round - a 5-0 beating of Porto in 2010.

Bukayo Saka was eight years old that night.

Times have certainly changed since then... seven of the 16 teams in that year’s knockout stage have not even qualified for this year’s group stage.

Best-case scenario: Feyenoord, Copenhagen, Lens

Group of death: Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad

What we’re playing for

16:04 , Marc Mayo

There she is in all her glory, the European Champion Clubs' Cup, to give it its full tile.

Champions League winner odds

15:57 , Marc Mayo

Man City - 21/10

Bayern Munich - 5/1

Real Madrid - 17/2

Arsenal - 10/1

Barcelona - 12/1

PSG - 14/1

Man Utd - 16/1

Napoli, Newcastle - 20/1

Odds provided by Betfair, subject to change

Two Champions League debutants

15:51 , Marc Mayo

We have two first-timers in this year’s competition in the form of Antwerp and Union Berlin.

Berlin’s superb rise in recent years saw them play in the Europa League last season and the Europa Conference League the season before that, although on both occasions they failed to reach the latter stages.

Antwerp are coached by Dutch legend Mark van Bommel and recently won their first Jupiler Pro League title since 1957.

Champions League draw countdown

15:46 , Marc Mayo

Just over an hour away until we begin but stay with us while we preview what awaits the 32 teams in this year’s Champions League.

Champions League group stage matchdays

15:41 , Marc Mayo

Matchday 1: 19/20 September

Matchday 2: 3/4 October

Matchday 3: 24/25 October

Matchday 4: 7/8 November

Matchday 5: 28/29 November

Matchday 6: 12/13 December

Champions League draw pots in full

15:36 , Marc Mayo

Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord

Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal

Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, Braga, PSV, FC Copenhagen

Pot 4: Newcastle, Union Berlin, Lens, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Celtic, Young Boys, Antwerp

How can I watch the Champions League group stage draw?

15:31 , Marc Mayo

TV channel: The draw will be broadcast live in the UK on TNT Sport 1, with coverage starting at 4.45pm BST. The draw is set for 5pm.

Live stream: TNT Sport subscribers can watch the draw live via the app or website, while the draw will also be broadcast for free via Uefa’s YouTube and social media channels.

A change of venue in 2023

15:27 , Marc Mayo

You might well think we’re off to Nyon and UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland for today’s draw - and you’d be wrong!

After three years away, the ceremony will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Don’t ever think these football bigwigs don’t do ‘plush’...

Champions League draw - LIVE!

15:23 , Marc Mayo

Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s coverage of the Champions League draw!

The group stage of the 2023 Champions League will be revealed in a ceremony beginning at 5pm BST.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Newcastle are the English sides joining the likes of Real Madrid, Celtic and Paris Saint-Germain in the hat.

Stay tuned for all the build-up, the live draw and reaction!