LIVE: Champions League group stage draw

Published on: 26 August 2021

The draw for the Champions League group stage takes place on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET with Chelsea looking to retain their crown.

Alongside Thomas Tuchel's side in Pot A are various league winners, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan and and Europa League-winners Villarreal among others.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Manchester United and Liverpool all feature in Pot B.

AC Milan, the second most successful team in the history of the competition with seven wins, return to the Champions League for the first time since 2014 and are in Pot D.

This season's final will take place at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal on May 29.

Awards for the best male and female players of the year will be handed out at the draw, as well as the UEFA President's Award to the Denmark medical team and captain Simon Kjaer who helped save the life of midfielder Christian Eriksen at Euro 2020.

Chelsea duo N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, as well as Man City's Kevin De Bruyne are nominated for the men's award, while Barcelona trio Alexia Putellas, Jennifer Hermoso and Lieke Martens are nominated for the women's award.

POT A: Chelsea (England), Sevilla (Spain), Villareal (Spain), Manchester City (England), Inter Milan (Italy), Bayern Munich (Germany), Lille (France), Sporting CP (Portugal).

POT B: Real Madrid (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), Juventus (Italy), Manchester United (England), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Liverpool (England), Sevilla (Spain), BorussiaDortmund (Germany).

POT C: Porto (Portugal), Ajax (Netherlands), Shakhtar Dontesk (Ukraine), RB Leipzig (Germany), FB Salzburg (Austria), Benfica (Portugal), Atalanta (Italy), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia).

POT D: Besiktas (Turkey), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Club Brugge (Belgium), Young Boys (Switzerland), AC Milan (Italy), Malmo (Sweden), Wolfsburg (Germany), Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova).

Source: espn.co.uk

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