UEFA Champions League draw: Live stream, how to watch online, schedule, date, time, group stage matchups

The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage is right around the corner, but before the action kicks off in September, the draw will take place on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey. The 32 teams qualified for the group stage will be divided into eight groups of four, and there is potential for more than one group of death. Could you imagine a group of Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Celtic? How about Manchester City, Barcelona, Dortmund and Rangers or PSV? The possibilities are enticing for viewers, but not so much for teams hoping for a clear path into the knockout stage. 

This draw will be airing live on CBS Sports HQ, and you can access the 24/7 streaming sports news network on Paramount+, CBSSports.com, Pluto TV and the CBS Sports app on mobile and streaming devices.

Paramount+ will also be your home for all UEFA Champions League matches, Europa League, Conference League and more.

CBSSports.com will also provide coverage during the draw, including results and analysis on Thursday. 

Here’s what to know:

How to watch

Date: Thursday, Aug. 25 | Time: 12 p.m. ET 

Live stream: Paramount+ (Try it free) and CBS Sports HQ

Location: Istanbul, Turkey

Host: Poppy Miller

Analysts: Ian Joy, Luis Garcia, Jimmy Conrad and Fabrizio Romano

Free trial

Paramount+ is the only place to watch every minute of every UCL match this season in addition to Serie A, NWSL and more. Sign up now with offer code ITALY to get a special one month free trial. A subscription also gives you access to other sports content including every Europa League match, the NFL on CBS, and countless movies and shows. Get it all free for 1 month with promo code ITALY.

Craving even more coverage of the beautiful game? Listen below and follow ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.  

What rules are there for the draw?

There will be four seeding pots, with the first one consisting of the six highest-ranked league champions and the winners of UCL and EL. Pots 2 to 4 will be determined via the club coefficient rankings. 

When forming the groups, no team can play another from its own association in the group stage, meaning two teams from England, for example, cannot be in the same group.

Champions League Group Stage Pots

Pot 1

• Real Madrid
• Eintracht Frankfurt
• Manchester City
• AC Milan
• Bayern Munich
• PSG
• Porto
• Ajax

Pot 2

• Liverpool
• Chelsea
• Barcelona
• Juventus
• Atletico Madrid
• Sevilla
• RB Leipzig
• Tottenham

Pot 3

• Borussia Dortmund
• RB Salzburg
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Inter Milan
• Napoli
• Sporting Lisbon
• Bayern Leverkusen
• Olympic Marseille

Pot 4

• Club Brugge
• Celtic
• Maccabi Haifa or Red Star Belgrade
• Copenhagen or Trabzonspor
• Bodo/Glimt or Dinamo Zagreb
• Qarabag or Viktoria Plzen
• Rangers or PSV
• Dynamo Kyiv or Benfica

Group stage matchdays

• Matchday 1: Sept. 6-7
• Matchday 2: Sept. 13-14
• Matchday 3: Oct. 4-5
• Matchday 4: Oct. 11-12
• Matchday 5: Oct. 25-26
• Matchday 6: Nov. 1-2

How to watch Europa League draw

Date: Friday, Aug. 26 | Time: 7 a.m. ET 

Live stream: Paramount+ (Try it free) and CBS Sports HQ

What rules are there for the draw?

There are four pots of eight, similar to UCL, and there will also be eight groups with four teams each. One team from each seeding pot will be in each group. Clubs from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.

Qualified teams

• Roma
• Manchester United
• Arsenal
• Lazio
• Braga
• Feyenoord
• Rennes
• Real Sociedad
• Real Betis
• Union Berlin
• Freiburg
• Nantes
• Monaco
• Sturm Graz
• Union Saint-Gilloise
• Midtjylland

Group stage matchdays

• Matchday 1: Sept. 8
• Matchday 2: Sept. 15
• Matchday 3: Oct. 6
• Matchday 4: Oct. 13
• Matchday 5: Oct. 27
• Matchday 6: Nov. 3