- Champions League group stage draw takes place on Thursday
- Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United are in the hat
- Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus are also in the draw
- Seedings change this year could lead to giants clashing in group stage
- Five teams from one country are in group stage for first time
Messi.
Robben. Pogba. The names of Europe's star players roll off the tongue
and these are the opponents Manchester United have been fighting tooth
and nail to compete against once again. After a season-long absence,
Louis van Gaal has hauled them back among the elite.
But
there's a problem: these fearsome names might no longer await United in
the knockout stages. Van Gaal might have to deal with Europe's big guns
straight away in the group stages, thanks to a change in the Champions
League seedings.
United
– along with Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and the rest - will
learn their fate at the Champions League group stage draw, which takes
place on Thursday.
As
Europe holds its breath ahead of the big day, Sportsmail brings you all
you need to know about the draw – from the seeding changes to the full
list of teams in the hat and the match dates – as the continent's best
teams get set to lock horns once again.
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When is the draw and where is it taking place?
At 4.45pm this Thursday, August 27 inside Monaco's Grimaldi Forum.
Who's in the hat?
The
best 32 teams in all of Europe, that's who. Barcelona, Real Madrid,
Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain are just the tip of the
iceberg. The Premier League will have its full allocation of four teams
in Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United.
How will the draw work?
Teams
are sorted into four pots of eight, with each pot ranked from the top
seeds down to the least fancied. One team from each pot will be drawn in
turn until eight groups of four have been filled. This means that no
team can play another from the same pot.
Each
team will then play the others in their group home and away to decide
which two sides from the four in one group progress to the knockout
phase.
Which teams go into which pot?
For
the first time Pot One will contain not the teams highest-ranked by
UEFA's 'club coefficient' but the champions of each of the top seven
leagues – that's Spain, England, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France and
Russia – plus the holders.
They are Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain and Zenit St Petersburg.
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As Premier League champions Chelsea are automatically in Pot One among the top seeds
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Pot One
features champions from Europe's top leagues including Bayern Munich and
Barcelona, with the latter taking their place in the draw as holders of
the Champions League trophy
Seeing
as the holders are Barcelona, the final spot in the top pot has gone to
the champions of the eighth-ranked nation, Holland. So PSV Eindhoven
will join the top seeds in Pot One.
Pot
Two will contain the teams ranked highest by UEFA who did not win their
domestic leagues last season. That includes Manchester City, Arsenal
and Manchester United – despite their failing to qualify for the
competition last season. Real Madrid will be in Pot Two, alongside
Atletico Madrid, Porto, Valencia and Bayer Leverkusen.
Pot Three contains Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon, Dynamo Kiev, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow Galatasaray and Roma
Pot Four contains BATE, Borussia Monchengladbach, Wolfsburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Gent, Malmo and Astana.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE POTS
POT ONE
Barcelona (holders)
Chelsea
Bayern Munich
Juventus
Benfica
Paris Saint-Germain
Zenit
PSV Eindhoven
POT TWO
Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid
Porto
Arsenal
Manchester United
Valencia
Bayer Leverkusen
Manchester City
POT THREE
Shakhtar Donetsk
Sevilla
Lyon
Dynamo Kiev
Olympiacos
CSKA Moscow
Galatasaray
Roma
POT FOUR
BATE
B. Monchengladbach
Wolfsburg
Dinamo Zagreb
Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Gent
Malmo
Astana
One team from each pot will form a group of eight. No side can be drawn with another from the same domestic league.
Who could Chelsea draw?
None
of the English teams (none of the Premier League teams will be able to
draw each other in the group stage). But because the Blues are in Pot
One, that greatly reduces their possible number of opponents in Pot Two
and greatly increases their chances of facing Real Madrid or Atletico
Madrid.
A dream group could include Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos and Malmo.
A nightmare group could include Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg.
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Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid are
the best ranked team outside of the domestic champions and top the bill
in Pot Two of the draw. They will be the side all teams in Pot One will
want to avoid
Who could Manchester City, Arsenal or Manchester United draw?
Any
of the domestic champions (except Chelsea), so one or more of them are
likely to play one of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus or Paris
Saint-Germain.
But the consolation is that they are guaranteed to avoid Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid as they share Pot Two.
A dream group for any of the three teams could include PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos and Malmo.
A nightmare group for any of the three teams could include Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg.
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Arsenal and
Manchester City's high coefficient rating means they too will feature
in Pot Two and as a result cannot be drawn against Real Madrid
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Despite coming through a qualifying
round, Manchester United join Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City
in Pot Two. Along with City and the Gunners they cannot be drawn against
fellow Premier League side Chelsea
Why are there five Spanish teams in the draw?
Sevilla
are the first club to qualify for the Champions League through winning
the Europa League, and Spain do not have to give up one of their
existing four places through the national league in the competition to
accommodate them. This means Spain are the first nation to have five
teams in the group stage. England would have had five in 2005-06 had
Everton progressed through the qualifying stage.
When will the group matches take place?
Matchday one: 15/16 September
Matchday two: 29/30 September
Matchday three: 20/21 October
Matchday four: 3/4 November
Matchday five: 24/25 November
Matchday six: 8/9 December
Astana will become the first side from Kazakhstan to feature in the UEFA Champions League group stage
Anything else we need to know about the draw?
The
draw ceremony includes the vote for and presentation of the 2014-15
UEFA Best Player in Europe Awards for men and women. It will also
establish the groups for the UEFA Champions League path of the expanded
UEFA Youth League.
How can you find out which teams have been drawn against each other?
That's easy: right here at www.dailymail.co.uk/sport
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