The UEFA Champions League for 2017/18 begins to take shape

Places for the Champions League group stage in 2017/18 are filling up quickly with 22 of the 32 teams who will go into the draw in August already confirmed. Amongst those already guaranteed a spot in the group phase of the competition are FC Barcelona who will go into Pot 2 in the draw with Pot 1 being reserved for the league champions of the eight major European leagues.

Ernesto Valverde’s team will avoid Real Madrid form the first pot (teams from the same Federation cannot be drawn together in the group stage) as well as Atlético Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Porto and UEFA Europa League champions Manchester United as they also form part of Pot 2 along with Barça.

Tottenham Hotspur, Basel, Anderlecht, Roma, Feyenoord, Leipzig and Besiktas are also through but as of yet have not been allocated a pot for the draw. That is because the preliminary rounds are yet to be played in which names such as Sevilla, Ajax, Napoli, CSKA Moscow, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos and Liverpool will be taking part and hoping for a place in one of the pots in the draw which will take place in Monaco on 24 August.

Once the draw is complete, the group stage will commence on 12/13 September with the competition concluding on 26 May 2018 when the Champions League final will be played in the NSK Olimpiyski stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine.