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It was an unfortunate Champions League for Atlético Madrid last year, with two draws against Azerbaijani side Qarabag at home and away sealing their fate in the competition. They did go on to win the Europa League and finish second in the league to salvage their season, but they want to be in the final in their home stadium at the end of the season.
And it starts here!
The draw for the group stages will take place on Thursday, Aug. 30 at Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, France. The event starts at 17:30 CEST but the draw will start, well, whenever the UEFA directors feel like it.
Here is the full list of where you can watch it. It’s on UEFA TV online, BT Sport in the United Kingdom and Univision Deportes and B/R Live in the United States.
The first round of fixtures will be played on September 18/19.
Who can Atlético get?
Atlético will avoid Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Lokomotiv Moscow. They also can’t get any of the Spanish teams.
That leaves some tasty potential fixtures, including possible games against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Napoli, Ajax, Inter Milan or Liverprool. (Let us know who your ideal three would be in the comments.)
Champions League Pots
| Pot 1 |
|---|
| Pot 1 |
| Real Madrid (holders) |
| Atletico Madrid (Europa League winners) |
| Barcelona |
| Bayern Munich |
| Manchester City |
| Juventus |
| Paris Saint-Germain |
| Lokomotiv Moscow |
| Pot 2 |
| Borussia Dortmund |
| Porto |
| Manchester United |
| Shakhtar Donetsk |
| Napoli |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
| Roma |
| Pot 3 |
| Schalke |
| Lyon |
| Monaco |
| Ajax |
| CSKA Moskva |
| Pot 4 |
| Club Brugge |
| Galatasaray |
| Young Boys |
| Inter |
| Hoffenheim |
| AEK Athens |
| TBD |
| Liverpool |
| Valencia |
| Viktoria Plzen |
| Three play-off winners |
Remaining fixtures:
2/3 October: Group stage matchday two
23/24 October: Group stage matchday three
6/7 November: Group stage matchday four
27/28 November: Group stage matchday five
11/12 December: Group stage matchday six
17 December: Round of 16 draw
12/13 and 19/20 February: Round of 16 first leg
5/6 and 12/13 March: Round of 16 second leg
15 March: Quarter-final and semi-final draw
9/10 April: Quarter-finals first leg
16/17 April: Quarter-finals second leg
30 April/1 May: Semi-finals first leg
7/8 May: Semi-finals second leg
1 June: Final at Wanda Metropolitano