Manchester City enter the competition as champions of Europe for the first time in our history following our 1-0 triumph over Inter in June.
And we’ll discover who we face in the initial stage of our Champions League defence on Thursday 31 August.
We will have a special Champions League Matchday Live show to cover the draw, plus you can keep across mancity.com and the official Man City app to discover our group stage opponents but, before the draw takes place, you can find all the important information you need ahead of our latest European campaign.
When and Where?
The Champions League group stage draw takes place on Thursday 31 August at to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, France.
The ceremony is set to get under way at 17:00 (UK).
It will also see the 2022/23 Men’s Player of the Year, Women’s Player of the Year, Men’s Coach of the Year and Women’s Coach of the Year awards, presented by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
Which Pot are City in?
As the reigning champions, Pep Guardiola’s men are in Pot 1, which includes the Europa League holders and six domestic champions.
With City already qualifying as winners despite also finishing top of the Premier League last season, Dutch champions Feyenoord are included among the top seeds due to the Eredivisie having the next highest coefficient ranking.
The 26 automatic qualifiers are below:
Pot 1:
Manchester City (Champions League holders)
Sevilla (Europa League holders)
Barcelona (ESP)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Napoli (ITA)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Benfica (POR)
Feyenoord (NED)
Pot 2:
Real Madrid (SPA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Inter (ITA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Arsenal (ENG)
Atletico Madrid (SPA)
RB Leipzig (GER)
Porto (POR)
Pot 3:
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
RB Salzburg (AUT)
AC Milan (ITA)
Braga (POR)
Lazio (ITA)
Red Star Belgrade (SRB)
FC Copenhagen (DEN)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Pot 4:
Newcastle United (ENG)
Union Berlin (GER)
RC Lens (FRA)
Young Boys (SWI)
Real Sociedad (SPA)
Galatasaray (TUR)
Celtic (SCO)
Antwerp (BEL)
Man City app coverage
You can keep across the draw on the official Manchester City app, including a special Matchday Live reaction show.
Natalie Pike will be joined in the studio by former City players Nedum Onuoha and Michael Brown, as well as journalist and City supporter David Mooney, to offer their thoughts before, during and after we discover our group stage fate.
A written review and lowdown on our opponents can also be accessed soon after the draw is announced, as well as details around dates, times and ticketing.
Those with push notifications turned on will also be alerted once the draw is concluded, from wherever you are in the world.
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Group Stage Rules
The 26 automatic qualifiers and six play-off winners will be split into four seeding pots.
Pots 1 & 2 are already confirmed but, with teams still competing for the six available play-off spots, Pots 3 to 4 will be determined by the club coefficient rankings on the morning of the draw.
City cannot be drawn against another side from Pot 1 or another English team in the group stage. Pairings and any other restrictions will be announced ahead of the draw.
When do the group stage matches take place?
City’s confirmed fixtures will appear on mancity.com and the official Man City app as soon as finalised.
The provisional calendar can be found below…
Matchday 1: 19/20 September 2023
Matchday 2: 3/4 October 2023
Matchday 3: 24/25 October 2023
Matchday 4: 7/8 November 2023
Matchday 5: 28/29 November 2023
Matchday 6: 12/13 December 2023
