Champions League overview, group stage draw, top favourites & more

The 2023/24 Champions League campaign is set to commence next month and the excitement is already starting to build up.

The qualifying rounds have been underway and it will finish on the 30th of August with the group stage draw set to take place on the following day.

24 teams have already qualified for the group stage, while eight more clubs will book their place through qualifying rounds. Once the final 32 teams are known and the draw takes place, Champions League tickets for the group stage games will be made available via official channels.

The group stage fixtures will start on 19th September and will run until the second week of December. The knockout stage will begin in February as usual and the final will be on the 1st of June next year. The grand occasion will be hosted at Wembley Stadium.

Top favourites

Manchester City managed to achieve their first-ever triumph in this competition and became only the second English team ever to win a historical treble last term.

The Citizens have lost a few crucial players like Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez this summer. But, they have already signed Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic to strengthen their squad, while they are expected to add more firepower before the end of the summer transfer window. So, Pep Guardiola’s side are the favourite to retain the trophy this season.

However, the record champion, Real Madrid’s name can’t be forgotten. They have spent big this summer to strengthen their squad and have purchased Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Joselu. However, Karim Benzema’s departure could turn out to be a costly one for them unless they replace him by signing a prolific striker before the end of this window.

After signing Harry Kane this summer, Bayern Munich have now established themselves as the favourites to lift the prestigious Champions League trophy this term. But they have been struggling to showcase their best under Thomas Tuchel. So, it is going to be interesting to see whether they can overcome their recent issues and fight on all fronts this season.

Teams to keep an eye on

Arsenal are back in this competition after remaining absent for almost a decade and they could be a dark horse in this year’s Champions League following their resurgence under Mikel Arteta.

After narrowly missing out on winning the league title last term, they have decided to spend big this summer to strengthen their squad in order to challenge on all fronts this season. Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber have been purchased by the North London club but unfortunately, Timber has sustained a knee issue and he is set to remain sidelined for a few months.

So, this is a big setback for Arsenal but they are seemingly looking to sign a new defender to replace the Dutchman. Nevertheless, the Gunners are expected to be a force to be reckoned with in this season’s Champions League.

Newcastle United have managed to qualify for this competition after remaining absent for a long time and it remains to be seen how they perform this season in Europe’s elite club competition.

They have spent big this summer to add depth to their squad as they are looking to mount a top-four finish in the Premier League once again this term while going deep into this season’s Champions League is likely to be their objective.

The Magpies have started the 2023/24 Premier League campaign impressively by thrashing Aston Villa 4-1 and they are likely to cause issues for big teams in the Champions League this season.

Manchester United are also back in this year’s Champions League edition after remaining absent last term. They have also invested heavily this summer and all eyes will be on them as to how they perform against Europe’s elite teams this season under Erik ten Hag’s guidance.

Barcelona are always among the favourites to challenge for the Champions League title and the Catalan giants will be hoping to do that this season under Xavi Hernandez.

However, they are currently in financial difficulties so they haven’t been able to make many new signings this summer to strengthen their squad and in addition, they have been forced to sell Ousmane Dembele to PSG. But, the huge boost for them is the arrival of Ilkay Gundogan and his addition will definitely bolster their squad.

PSG are a team that need to be kept an eye on this season. After signing superstar players over the last few years, they have taken a different route this summer and have signed numerous youngsters. They will be hoping to achieve their ambition of winning Europe’s elite club competition this term under the new boss Luis Enrique’s guidance.

Can Italian clubs become a surprise package again?

Napoli won the Scudetto comprehensively last term and eyes will be on them as to how they will perform in the Champions League campaign this term. Their fate in this competition will be heavily reliant on the performances of their two key players Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen. But, the departure of Kim Min-Jae is a big blow for them.

After surprisingly reaching the semi-final last season, expectations are high on AC Milan to repeat that this term and even do better than that. They have been busy in this transfer window and have already signed several exciting young talents.

So, the Rossoneri fans will be hoping they will be challenging for the Scudetto this term and go deep in the Champions League.

Inter Milan managed to reach all the way to the final last season before losing to Man City 1-0. So, it is going to be interesting to see whether they can replicate their last term’s performance this season.

Team distributions in the group stage draw

There are four seeding pots in the group stage draws and the Champions of the top seven domestic leagues consist in the number one pot, while the Europa League champions are also placed in it. So, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla, Benfica and Feyenoord are all allotted in the first pot.

Other Premier League clubs such as Man Utd and Arsenal are in the second pot, while Newcastle’s pots will be assigned following the conclusion of the qualifying rounds and they will be either in the third or fourth pots.

Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan are all in the second pot, while AC Milan have been assigned to the third pot along with Lazio.

We are hoping to experience yet another exhilarating Champions League campaign this season and it is going to be interesting to see which team turn out to be Europe’s best this season.