Champions League draw: key dates and path to the 2022/23 final

Manchester City will compete in the Champions League next season after they won their second seconutive Premier League title last campaign.

Manchester City will be one of 32 teams to discover who they will have in their Champions League group on Thursday.

Man City have never won the Champions League, but got to the semi-final in 2022 Credit: Getty | Getty Images

placeholder image — Man City have never won the Champions League, but got to the semi-final in 2022 Credit: Getty | Getty Images

The Sky Blues last competed in the competition during the 2021-22 campaign where they reached the semi-final, losing 6-5 on aggregate to Real Madrid over both legs.

Pep Guardiola’s side were on course for a second consecutive final, but a stunning last few minutes saw goals from Rodrygo and Karim Benzema, meaning City will have to wait for this season to try and reach the last two again.

The Sky Blues have never won the competition and will be hoping their summer transfer business, which includes the arrival of prolific striker Erling Haaland, will bring that to an end. Other English sides in the draw are Liverpool, who lost out to Real Madrid in the 2022 final, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

City suffered Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Real last season. Credit: Getty. | AFP via Getty Images

With that being said, here’s all the information you need to know ahead of the Champions League group stage draw…

When is the Champions League draw?

The Champions League group stage draw is set to take place on Thursday 25 August in Istanbul, Turkey.

What time is the draw?

The draw will be conducted at 5pm BST, that’s 6pm local time.

Which teams have qualified so far?

City are among 26 clubs, at the time of writing, to have automatically qualified for the competition so far. They are as follows:

Real Madrid (ESP, Champions League holders)

Real went on to win their 14th Champions League trophy in May. Credit: Getty. | Getty Images

Eintracht Frankfurt (GER, Europa League holders)

Manchester City (ENG)

AC Milan (ITA)

Bayern München (GER)

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

Porto (POR)

Ajax (NED)

Liverpool (ENG)

Chelsea (ENG)

Barcelona (ESP)

Juventus (ITA)

Atlético de Madrid (ESP)

Sevilla (ESP)

RB Leipzig (GER)

Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Borussia Dortmund (GER)

City will be hoping Haaland will fire them to Champions League success. Credit: Getty. | Getty Images

Salzburg (AUT)

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

Inter (ITA)

Napoli (ITA)

Sporting CP (POR)

Bayer Leverkusen (GER)

Marseille (FRA)

Club Brugge (BEL)

Celtic became the first British team to win the Champions League in 1967. Credit: Getty. | AFP via Getty Images

Celtic (SCO)

Another six clubs will join the draw following the completion of the play-off games which are taking place on Tuesday August 23 and Wednesday August 24.

When will the group stage begin?

City will face each of their three group stage opponents twice with the following dates schedule:

Matchday 1: 6/7 September

Matchday 2: 13/14 September

Matchday 3: 4/5 October

Matchday 4: 11/12 October

Sergio Aguero is City’s all-time leading scorer in the competition with 39 goals. Credit: Getty. | Getty Images

Matchday 5: 25/26 October

Matchday 6: 1/2 November

When will the knockout phase take place?

City, whether they finish in the top two of their group, will begin the knockout phase of the competition in mid-February.

Round of 16: 14/15/21/22 February & 7/8/14/15 March 2023

Quarter-final and semi-final draw: 17 March 2023

Quarter-finals: 11/12 & 18/19 April 2023

Semi-finals: 9/10 & 16/17 May 2023

This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Credit: Getty. | AFP via Getty Images

Final: 10 June 2023

Where will the final be held?

The Champions League final is set to take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on 10 June, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.