AFTER LAST NIGHT’S final round of play-off games, the line-up is now set for the 2016-17 Champions League group stage draw, which will happen at 5pm Irish time today in Monaco.
The 32 teams in the draw will be divided into four pots to determine the eight groups. Pot 1 contains the champions from the seven top leagues in Europe, as well as holders Real Madrid. The remaining pots are ranked in accordance with Uefa’s team coefficient, which is derived from how clubs have performed in European competitions in recent seasons.
For fans of English football, Leicester City are seeded in Pot 1, Arsenal and Manchester City find themselves in Pot 2, while Tottenham Hotspur are in Pot 3. Legia Warsaw, who denied Dundalk a place in the draw, are in Pot 4 alongside Celtic.
Clubs from the same country can’t be drawn together at this stage. Due to political reasons, Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine can’t be drawn in the same group as either of the Russian sides — CSKA Moscow and Rostov.
Group stage draw pots
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Leicester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, PSG, CSKA Moscow
Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Manchester City, Sevilla, Porto, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 3: FC Basel, Tottenham Hotspur, Dynamo Kiev, Lyon, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting CP, Club Brugge, Borussia Monchengladbach
Pot 4: Celtic, AS Monaco, Besiktas, Legia Warsaw, Dinamo Zagreb, Ludogorets Razgrad, FC Copenhagen, Rostov
Group stage matchdays
13, 14 September
27, 28 September
18, 19 October
1, 2 November
22, 23 November
6, 7 December
