UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw: All you need to know, live streaming, time in IST

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw for the new season takes place on Thursday, August 26.

UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Group Stage Draw, Live Streaming Details, Teams, Format, Time in IST: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus will play in this Champions League while still fighting tournament organizer UEFA in court for the right to organize a rival competition. Meanwhile, seven-time winner AC Milan will play its first Champions League game since March 2014 when the groups start on September 14-15.

UCL Draw 21/22: Chelsea to face Juventus; Atletico, Liverpool in group of death

There are some unusually low-ranked teams among the top-seeded clubs. Top status is given to the Champions League and Europa League title-holders plus winners of the six highest-ranked domestic leagues.

All set for the 2021/22 season! 🤩

Which Champions League group are you most excited for?#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/gpOCzlRtOd

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 26, 2021

That means French champion Lille is among the top seeds despite being the lowest-ranked team of all 32 in the draw, just as it was two years ago when losing five of six games. Europa League winner Villarreal and Portuguese champion Sporting also have relatively low rankings.

In contrast, the pot of second-seeded teams is loaded with serial winners of European trophies plus Paris Saint-Germain’s team of superstars, including Lionel Messi. In Pot 2, the lowest-ranked team based on European results since 2016, Borussia Dortmund, is ranked higher by UEFA than half of the top seeds.

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There will be a new Sheriff in the Champions League draw on Thursday, giving Moldova its first entry in the group stage alongside rebel clubs who tried to launch their own elite breakaway. Sheriff advanced easily with a 0-0 draw at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday after winning 3-0 in the home leg of their playoff last week.

Champions of Europe ✅
🔵 How far Chelsea will go this time?#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/IPa5gI5zw7

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 26, 2021

SEEDING POTS

Pot 1: Chelsea, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Lille OSC and Sporting CP

Pot 2: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund

Pot 3: Porto, Ajax, RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk

Pot 4: Besiktas, Dynamo Kyiv, Club Brugge, Young Boys, AC Milan, Wolfsburg, Malmö, Sheriff Tiraspol

REMINDER: No team can play a side from their own association…#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/oWUHPNVONl

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 26, 2021

When will the UEFA Champions League group stage draw take place?

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The group stage draw will be held at 9:30 PM IST on Thursday, August 26, in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul.

How to watch the group stage draw games live?

The UCL 2021-22 group stage draw fixtures will be live broadcast on Sony Network in India. UCL group stage draw will be telecasted live on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD.

The fixtures can also be followed live online on SonyLiv or UEFA’s official website.

When will the group matches take place?

The upcoming group stage draws will kick off on September 14.

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