17.40
Group A: Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad
Group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, Copenhagen
Group C: Benfica, Paris St-Germain, Olympiakos, Anderlecht
Group D: Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City, Viktoria Plzen
Group E:Chelsea, Schalke, Basel, Steaua Bucharest
Group F:Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli
Group G: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, Austria Vienna
Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax, Celtic
17.37 Celtic drawn into H ... Barcelona, Ajax & AC Milan ouch!
17.36 Anderlecht drawn into group C
17.35 Real Socieded drawn into group A
17.34 Napoli drawn in the final round into group F
17.33 Final pot is on its way
17.32 Borussia Dortmund drawn into group F alongside Arsenal & Marseille
17.31 Manchester City drawn into D along with Bayern and CSKA
17.30 Ajax drawn into group H
17.28 Zenit St Petersburg drawn into group G
17.27 Bayer Leverkusen land in group A
17.25 Galatasaray drawn into group B
17.24 Olympiacos drawn in group C
17.23 FC Basel drawn in group E
17.21 Pot 3 up next...
17.21 Shakhtar Donetsk in group A with Manchester United
17.20 Juventus in group B with Real Madrid
17.19 Atletico Madrid in group G with Porto
17.18 CSKA Moscow in group D with Bayern Munich
17.17 PSG in group C with Benfica
17.16 Schalke in group E with Chelsea
17.15 AC Milan in group H with Barcelona
17.13 Marseille in group F with Arsenal
17.10 Next pot...
17.09 Manchester United in group A
17.09 Porto in group G
17.08 Benfica in group C
17.07 Barcelona in group H
17.06 Bayern Munich in group D
17.06 Real Madrid in group B
17.04 Chelsea out next in group E
17.02 Arsenal first out in group F
17.00 "For Portugal and Lisbon, to have the chance to host the final of the best club competition is a great honour. We're sure it will be a fantastic evening." Says Luis Figo
16.57 UEFA are currently providing a sense of occasion...Here we go
16.36 There is a 50% chance that Man City could face Barcelona or Bayern Munich as they cannot face an English side
16.34 Jose Mourinho is a two-time Champions League winner but has not experienced European glory with Chelsea. Could this be the Special One's and Chelsea's year?
16.28 Who do you think will win the Champions League this season?
16.21There are strong teams in all four pots, including last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund in pot three. 18 countries are represented in total, with Austria Vienna making their debut at the group stage.
16.20 Pot 1: FC Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Porto, Benfica
Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan, Schalke, Marseille, CSKA Moscow, PSG, Juventus
Pot 3: Zenit, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Basel, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, Napoli, Anderlecht, Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, Pizen, Real Sociedad, Austria Vienna
Hello and welcome to our LIVE blog of this season's UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw. This season's competition promises to be a fantastic event, with the likes of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola & Carlo Ancelloti all changing clubs - whilst David Moyes enters the fray as the new Manchester United boss.
In fact, it has been a summer of huge change across Europe. Jose Mourinho left Real Madrid for Chelsea. David Moyes has replaced Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Whilst Manuel Pellegrini has been bought in at Manchester City to deliver the ultimate trophy at Eastlands, the Champions League. The man who was replaced by Mourinho, Rafael Benitez, has taken up the hot seat in Napoli, following Walter Mazzarri's departure to Inter Milan. Unfortunately, Tito Vilanova had to step down as Barcelona coach due to illness, with Gerardo Martino replacing him. Carlo Ancelotti replaced Mourinho at Real Madrid - with Laurent Blanc replacing the Italian at PSG.
We can confirm that this season's top seeds are;
Bayern Munich (GER)
Barcelona (SPA)
Chelsea (ENG)
Real Madrid (SPA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Arsenal (ENG)
FC Porto (POR)
Benfica (POR)
There are three teams representing England in the top seeds - with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal once again in contention for Europe's top prize. Arsenal had to battle against Turkish side Fenerbahce - beating them 5-0 on aggregate - to qualify for this years competition. Manchester United automatically qualified as a result of finishing first in the Premier League, whilst Chelsea remain a top seed due to their impressive performances in Europe over the last five years. Manchester City however are among the third seeds today - due to their inability to advance through the group stages for the last two seasons.
Last year's winners, FC Bayern Munich, are the only top seed from Germany this year. The Bavarian outfit have had to deal with a lot of change this summer, with last years coach Jupp Henyckes leaving the club. New boss and former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has taken the reigns of the German giants, and will be keen to impress his new employer's in the competition that Bayern dominated last year. We will have to wait and see if Guardiola and co. can replicate Jupp Henyckes' impressive achievements last season, as they look to battle on all front's in every competition. If Pep can win the Champions League in his inaugural season at Bayern, they will be the first team to retain the European crown.
Here is a list of those all-important Champions League dates you will all HAVE to note down, honest!
Group stage draw: August 29, 2013.
Group stage matchday: 1, September 17-18, 2013.
Group stage matchday: 2, October 1-2, 2013.
Group stage matchday: 3, October 22-23, 2013.
Group stage matchday: 4, November 5-6, 2013.
Group stage matchday: 5, November 26-27, 2013.
Group stage matchday: 6, December 10-11, 2013.
Round of 16 draw: December 13, 2013.
Quater-final draw: Match 21, 2014.
Semi-final and final draw: April 11, 2014.
Source: DSX
