Another edition of the UEFA Champions League kicks off next month, with 32 teams vying for the ultimate prize in European club football.
Before a ball can be kicked, the group stage draw will be used to determine each team's road through the tournament. For some of the bigger fish — like defending champions Chelsea, along with Lionel Messi-led PSG, English powers Manchester City and Manchester United, and recent winners Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid, and Barcelona — the road will be expected to lead to the final.
Other, smaller sides probably have more tempered expectations, but at this point, all 32 clubs have the same opportunity.
Here's everything you need to know about the Champions League group stage draw, including when and where it takes place, how to watch it live, and more.
What is the 2021-22 Champions League group stage draw?
The Champions League group stage will again consist of 32 teams. Thursday's draw will create eight groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout rounds.
Ahead of the draw, teams are split into four seeding pots. Pot 1 consists of the defending champion (Chelsea), the UEFA Europa League champion (Villarreal), and the champions of each of the top six associations based on UEFA's country coefficient rankings (Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Lille, and Sporting CP).
Pots 2-4 are populated according to the club coefficients.
Teams from the same association cannot be drawn together in the same group.
Which teams are in the 2020-21 Champions League group stage?
With qualifying now complete, the full 32-team field is known.
As outlined above, teams are split into four seeding pots ahead of the draw:
Pot 1
- Chelsea (Champions League title holder)
- Villarreal (Europa League title holder)
- Atletico Madrid
- Manchester City
- Bayern Munich
- Inter Milan
- Lille
- Sporting CP
Pot 2
- Real Madrid
- Barcelona
- Juventus
- Manchester United
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Liverpool
- Sevilla
- Borussia Dortmund
Pot 3
- Porto
- Ajax
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- RB Leipzig
- Red Bull Salzburg
- Benfica
- Atalanta
- Zenit Saint Petersburg
Pot 4
- Besiktas
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Club Brugge
- Young Boys
- Milan
- Malmo
- VfL Wolfsburg
- Sheriff Tiraspol
When is the 2020-21 Champions League draw?
This year's Champions League group stage draw will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday, Aug. 26, at 12 p.m. ET.
How to watch the 2021-22 Champions League live in Canada
In Canada, the group stage draw can watched above or live and on demand on DAZN.
Additionally, every UEFA Champions League game is streamed on DAZN.
DAZN Canada’s UEFA Champions League coverage includes several features and highlight packages from famous games of the past, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at some of the biggest moments from the current competition. In addition, "The DAZN Soccer Show" tackles the various storylines and narratives around the game today.
In Canada, a monthly subscription to DAZN is $20 CAD, and an annual subscription is $150 CAD. There is also a 30-day free trial for new users. Learn more by clicking here.
Who won last season's Champions League?
Chelsea completed a meteoric rise with the winning of the 2020-21 Champions League title.
Under manager Thomas Tuchel, the Blues went from an also-ran at the halfway point of the Premier League season to one of the world's hottest teams, climbing back up the table to a respectable fourth place finish. But the crowning achievement of the half-season under Tuchel was the continental title, won against domestic rival Manchester City thanks to a Kai Havertz strike late in the opening half.
The single goal was all that was needed by the Blues as they prevailed 1-0.