Champions League draw: what time is the group stage draw today and how to watch in the UK

The Champions League play-offs reached their conclusion on September 30, meaning it’s almost time for the 32 qualified teams to find out their group stage opposition.

As ever there is English interest in the tournament with Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all in the hat, following a hard-fought top four race.

Four teams from Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga join them, with Danish newcomers Midtjylland and Hungarian debutantes Ferencvaros among the more obscure sides set to feature in Europe’s top competition.

When and where is the draw?

The draw takes place at 4pm UK time this afternoon at the RTS studios in Geneva, Switzerland.

Where can I watch it?

UEFA will be streaming the ceremony live from their official website. You can tune in and watch here.

Sky Sports News will also provide live coverage of the draw.

What are the draw pots?

Teams are divided into four pots with the Champions League and Europa League holders placed in the highest pots along with the winners of Europe’s top six leagues.

The final three pots are populated by sides by seed with the highest remaining seeds featuring in pot two and the lowest seeds featuring in pot 4.

Here’s how each of the pots look:

Pot 1

Bayern MunichSevillaReal MadridLiverpoolJuventusParis Saint-GermainZenit St PetersburgPortoPot 2

BarcelonaAtlético de MadridManchester CityManchester UnitedShakhtar DonetskDortmundChelseaAjax

Pot 3

Dynamo KyivSalzburgRB LeipzigInternazionale MilanOlympiacosLazioKrasnodarAtalanta

Pot 4

Lokomotiv MoscowMarseilleClub BruggeBorussia Mönchengladbachİstanbul BaşakşehirMidtjyllandRennesFerencváros

When will group stage fixtures take place?

Six sets of matchdays have been set aside for the group stages in a calendar that is heavily congested due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s when you can watch the Champions League group stages.

Matchday 1: 20/21 OctoberMatchday 2: 27/28 OctoberMatchday 3: 3/4 NovemberMatchday 4: 24/25 NovemberMatchday 5: 1/2 DecemberMatchday 6: 8/9 December

When are the UEFA Awards?

The UEFA Awards also take place at the ceremony.

The following awards will be handed out at the ceremony:

- UEFA Men's Player of the Year

- UEFA Women's Player of the Year

- UEFA Men's Coach of the Year

- UEFA Women's Coach of the Year

- Goalkeeper of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season

- Defender of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season

- Midfielder of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season

- Forward of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League season

- Goalkeeper of the 2019/20 UEFA Women's Champions League season

- Defender of the 2019/20 UEFA Women's Champions League season

- Midfielder of the 2019/20 UEFA Women's Champions League season

- Forward of the 2019/20 UEFA Women's Champions League season