The 2022/23 Champions League group stage draw is almost upon us.

It takes place in Istanbul on Thursday 25 August from 17:00 (UK). 

Stay tuned to ManCity.com or the official Man City app for all the news of who we are drawn against. 

And ahead of Thursday’s ceremony, here’s everything City fans needs to know...

What pot are City in? 

Pep Guardiola‘s Premier League champions are in Pot 1. 

As it stands today, that’s the only Pot which is finalised. 

The draw will feature 26 automatic qualifiers and six play-off round winners whose identity will be confirmed on 23 and 24 August.

Benfica, Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen are the three sides who progressed on Tuesday evening. Matches on Wednesday are Dinamo Zagreb v Bodo/Glimt (0-1 agg), PSV Eindhoven v Rangers (2-2 agg) and Trabzonspor v FC Copenhagen (1-2 agg).

The line-up is subject to final confirmation by UEFA.

Pot 1
Real Madrid (ESP, Champions League holders)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER, Europa League holders)
Manchester City (ENG)
AC Milan (ITA)
Bayern München (GER)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Porto (POR)
Ajax (NED)

Other pots
Liverpool (ENG)
Chelsea (ENG)
Barcelona (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Sevilla (ESP)
RB Leipzig (GER)
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)

Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Salzburg (AUT)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Inter (ITA)
Napoli (ITA)
Sporting CP (POR)
Benfica (POR)
Bayer Leverkusen (GER)

Marseille (FRA)
Club Brugge (BEL)
Celtic (SCO)
Maccabi Haifa (ISR)
Viktoria Plzen (CZE)
Rangers (SCO)
Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
FC Copenhagen (DEN)

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Group stage rules

The draw features 32 teams: 26 teams given direct entry to the group stage and the six winners of the play-off ties.

The teams will be split into four seeding pots. Pot 1 will consist of the holders, the UEFA Europa League winners and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations who did not qualify via one of the 2021/22 titles; Pots 2 to 4 will be determined by the club coefficient rankings.

In the case of associations with two representatives, clubs will be paired in order to split their matches between Tuesdays and Wednesdays. In the case of associations with four representatives, two pairings will be made. These pairings are to be based on TV audiences.

No team can play a side from their own association. Any other restrictions will be announced ahead of the draw.

How does the winter World Cup affect things?

Fixtures will be confirmed after the draw for a group stage which will be contracted over an eight-week period this autumn because of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The top two teams in each group advance to the round of 16.

The third-placed sides in each group transfer to the UEFA Europa League knockout stage, where they will face the UEFA Europa League group runners-up for places in the last 16.

When do the Champions League group stage matches take place?

City’s confirmed fixtures will appear on ManCity.com and the official Man City app as soon as finalised, but here is the provisional calendar... 

Matchday 1: 6/7 September

Matchday 2: 13/14 September

Matchday 3: 4/5 October

Matchday 4: 11/12 October

Matchday 5: 25/26 October

Matchday 6: 1/2 November

Round of 16 draw: 7 November