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The participants in this season’s Champions League are nearly set, and so are the pots for the Aug. 31 draw. The field is stacked with regional heavyweights, including reigning Champions League winners Manchester City and Europa League champions Sevilla. Joining them in pot 1 are Bayern Munich plus new signing Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain minus Lionel Messi and Neymar, the latter having left for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal this summer. Manchester United, Arsenal, and Newcastle United make up the rest of the English contingent in this year’s field.
A handful of Americans are also slated to compete in the Champions League this year, including new AC Milan duo Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah and Union Berlin’s Brenden Aaronson.
Here’s a breakdown of the pots ahead of the Aug. 31 draw. Pot 1 is reserved for reigning champions Manchester City and last season’s Europa League champion Sevilla, as well as the title winners of the six highest-ranked leagues per UEFA’s association coefficient. Since City were also the English champions, Dutch title winners Feyenoord earned a spot in Pot 1.
The pots will be completed this week with the UEFA Champions League qualifying playoffs wrapping up. Here’s what to know:
Playoff second legs
All matches will air on Paramount+ with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET.
TuesdayYoung Boys 3, Maccabi Haifa 0 (Young Boys advance on aggregate, 3-0)Sporting Braga 1, Panathinaikos 0 (Braga advance on aggregate, 3-1)Galatasaray 2, Molde 1 (Galatasaray advance on aggregate, 5-3)
WednesdayPSV vs. Rangers (2-2 after first leg) Copenhagen vs. Rakow Czestochowa (1-0 after first leg)AEK Athens vs. Antwerp (0-1 after first leg)
The teams that advanced are sorted into pots based on their UEFA club coefficient.
Pots so far
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, FC Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto, Arsenal
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, Braga
Pot 4: Newcastle United, Union Berlin, Lens, Real Sociedad, Celtic, Galatasaray
Currently unseeded teams: Young Boys
Group stage matchdays
Matchday 1: Sept. 19-20Matchday 2: Oct. 3-4Matchday 3: Oct. 34-25Matchday 4: Nov. 7-8Matchday 5: Nov. 28-29Matchday 6: Dec. 12-13
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Aug. 31 Time: 12 p.m. ETLocation: Grimaldi Forum — MonacoLive stream: Paramount+