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Follow UsThe top European football teams of the last season will know their Champions League group stage oppositions for this season when the draw for the group stage will take place in Monaco on Thursday from 9:30 P.M (IST). Pep Guardiola's side won the trophy for the first time when they defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in last season's final in Istanbul in June. They will be in the first pot of seeds for this season's group phase, along with Europa League winners Sevilla as well as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Feyenoord, and Benfica as they won their respective leagues.
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Champions League 2023-24 draw:
The Gunners are back in Europe's elite club competition for the first time since 2016/17 after Mikel Arteta's side finished second behind City in England last season. Manchester United and Newcastle United are the third and fourth Premier League representatives. Newcastle have not appeared in the Champions League in two decades and will be in pot four for the draw. That means the Magpies can expect to find themselves in an extremely tough group, with Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid also in pot two and AC Milan and Lazio among the third seeds.
The fresh faces in this season's competition include Lens of France, who are also back in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. Union Berlin will appear for the first time in their history after finishing fourth in the Bundesliga last season. The first matches in the group stage will take place on September 19 and 20. The final will be held at Wembley in London on June 1, 2024.
This will be the final season of the Champions League in its existing format, which has been in place for two decades. Next season will see UEFA introduce a new, expanded group stage featuring 36 teams, up from the current 32, with everyone playing eight matches instead of six.
The UEFA Champions League 2023-24 Group Stage Draw will take place in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Sony Sports Network will broadcast and SonyLiv will stream the draw live from 9:30 P.M (IST)