The 2022/23 Champions League season is just a week away as 32 teams get to know their opponents after the group stage draw was made on Friday, 26th August 2022 in Istanbul the city which will host the final of the competition on 10th June 2023. Only three months ago, Real Madrid beat Liverpool to clinch their 14th European honor in Paris with Vinicius Junior scoring the only goal in the final last season.
This time the Champions League group stage will happen in an entirely different timeline to adjust to a congested schedule forced by the unusual mid-season World Cup in Qatar starting on 20 November 2022. As a result, the opening group games will kick off on 6th September and will conclude in two months’ time on 3rd November this year.
Here is every detail of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw including fixtures:
Champions League Group Stage Draw
Group A
Ajax
Liverpool
Rangers
Napoli
Group A contain four interesting teams to watch for in this competition. Last season’s finalist Liverpool are drawn with Serie A giants Napoli along with Dutch league champions Ajax and making to the group stage of the Champions League after 12 long years, Rangers. The Gers overcame PSV Eindhoven’s challenge over both legs in the playoffs to finally name themselves in the competition proper. Liverpool will be aiming to reach another Champions League final and possibly win it this time but had to make some difficult trips in this group including their first match at Naples where they have lost each of their last two meetings there and drawn a third one in European competition. Ajax are wishing to do better than their round of 16 finish last season now without their star manager Erik Ten Hag who has taken the hot seat at Manchester United.
Group B
Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Club Brugge
FC Porto
Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid will take on a familiar foe in FC Porto like during the last group stage game between them where both were locked in the do-or-die battle for qualification to the last 16. Three straight red cards were shown in the match the Spanish team ultimately secured the victory. They are joined by Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen who had an excellent domestic campaign last season managing to secure Champions League football by finishing third on the final day in a tight race for the top four places. The other team in this group is Belgium league champions Club Brugge having won their league a record 17 times.
Group C
FC Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Inter
Viktoria Plzen
The supposedly ‘group of death’ in this season’s Champions League is surely Group C. Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will once again meet Barcelona now rejuvenated by their mega signings, despite financial concerns, in the group stages for the consecutive seasons but with one of their players making a reunion after departing in this transfer window. Once Bayern’s lethal goal-machine for nine years, Robert Lewandowski switched alliances to the Camp Nou-based club to taste something new and will return at Allianz Arena to meet his old friends on game day two. Italian outfit Inter will be locked in the potentially three team battle for the qualification to the knockout rounds of the competition having troubled Bayern and Barcelona in memorable games in the past. With all due respect to the Czech side Viktoria Plzen returning to the group stages after two season absence, they are underdogs in this group.
Group D
Eintracht Frankfurt
Marseille
Sporting CP
Tottenham
Group D consists of Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt paired with Tottenham Hotspurs, Sporting CP and Marseille. Spurs are returning to the premier competition since their journey to the 2018/19 Champions League final. Antonio Conte’s side secured the Champions League berth ahead of their rivals Arsenal on the last day of the Premier League season. Marseille remains the only French club to have won the competition in 1993 and are returning to the group stages after two seasons.
Group E
AC Milan
Chelsea
Dinamo Zagreb
FC Salzburg
Spices are up for Group E as well as former winners Chelsea face Italian champions after 10 years, AC Milan and champions from Croatia and Austria. The Blues travel to Zagreb to kick off one of the two early games of the new Champions League season against Dinamo while the Rossoneri get a welcome from Salzburg in Austria. The two favorites in this group, Chelsea and Milan clash against each other in a fascinating game at Stamford Bridge in the third match week.
Group F
Celtic
RB Leipzig
Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk
Scottish champions Celtic are back in the group stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2017/18 and are competing together in this stage with arch rivals Rangers since 2007. The Hoops will share their group with competition holders Real Madrid aiming for the prize again. Similar to the previous season, Real are joined by Shakhter Donetsk who will play their home games in Poland’s capital, Warsaw due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The ground, Stadion Wojska Polskiego originally belongs to Legia Warshaw and Shakhtar will use it for Champions League football otherwise the side will play their domestic games in their nation under military support and with no fans. RB Leipzig from Germany are into their fifth Champions League season since their debut in the competition recently in 2017.
Group G
Dortmund
Copenhagen
Man City
Sevilla
Group G will produce a major reunion storyline as Norwegian goal-scoring phenom, Erling Haaland’s Manchester City fight against his previous club Borussia Dortmund first at Etihad next month and then a return back to Germany in October. Julien Lopetuigi’s Sevilla are up for the challenge to have their say in the contest in their third straight Champions League season with their best ever points tally recorded in their club history in La Liga last season. Danish champions FC Copenhagen came through playoff defeating the Turkish champions Trabzonspor to prevent any representation from the country in the group stage of the competition for the first time in 27 years.
Group H
SL Benfica
Juventus
Maccabi Haifa
PSG
There will be a titanic clash between Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and Italian giants Juventus to start things off in Group H. The Qatari-owned club have once again strengthened their squad in the summer to fight for the Champions League title they are so desperate for having suffered disappointment in the last 16 stages in the past season. The Old Lady of Turin are going through a transition period and hope their star signings this summer will give them the edge in the battle. Benfica faced a difficult group last time as well but made it to the knockout rounds and will be wishing to do the same in upsetting one of the top guns in this group. It is only the third time that Maccabi Haifa are competing in the group stages of the Champions League and first time since the 2009-10 season.
Champions League Group Stage Fixtures
Matchday 1
6 Sep: Dinamo Zagreb vs Chelsea - 10:15 PM (Group E)
6 Sep: Borussia Dortmund vs Copenhagen - 10:15 PM (Group G)
7 Sep: FC Salzburg vs AC Milan - 12:30 AM (Group E)
7 Sep: Celtic vs Real Madrid - 12:30 AM (Group F)
7 Sep: RB Leipzig vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 12:30 AM (Group F)
7 Sep: Sevilla vs Man City - 12:30 AM (Group G)
7 Sep: PSG vs Juventus - 12:30 AM (Group H)
7 Sep: SL Benfica vs Maccabi Haifa - 12:30 AM (Group H)
7 Sep: Ajax vs Rangers - 10:15 PM (Group A)
7 Sep: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Sporting CP - 10:15 PM (Group D)
8 Sep: Napoli vs Liverpool - 12:30 AM (Group A)
8 Sep: Atlético Madrid vs FC Porto - 12:30 AM (Group B)
8 Sep: Club Brugge vs Bayer Leverkusen - 12:30 AM (Group B)
8 Sep: FC Barcelona vs Viktoria Plzen - 12:30 AM (Group C)
8 Sep: Inter vs Bayern Munich - 12:30 AM (Group C)
8 Sep: Tottenham vs Marseille - 12:30 AM (Group D)
Matchday 2
13 Sep: Viktoria Plzen vs Inter - 10:15 PM (Group C)
13 Sep: Sporting CP vs Tottenham - 10:15 PM (Group D)
14 Sep: Liverpool vs Ajax - 12:30 AM (Group A)
14 Sep: Rangers vs Napoli - 12:30 AM (Group A)
14 Sep: FC Porto vs Club Brugge - 12:30 AM (Group B)
14 Sep: Bayer Leverkusen vs Atlético Madrid - 12:30 AM (Group B)
14 Sep: Bayern Munich vs FC Barcelona - 12:30 AM (Group C)
14 Sep: Marseille vs Eintracht Frankfurt - 12:30 AM (Group D)
14 Sep: AC Milan vs Dinamo Zagreb - 10:15 PM (Group E)
14 Sep: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Celtic - 10:15 PM (Group F)
15 Sep: Chelsea vs FC Salzburg - 12:30 AM (Group E)
15 Sep: Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig - 12:30 AM (Group F)
15 Sep: Man City vs Dortmund - 12:30 AM (Group G)
15 Sep: Copenhagen vs Sevilla FC - 12:30 AM (Group G)
15 Sep: Juventus vs SL Benfica - 12:30 AM (Group H)
15 Sep: Maccabi Haifa vs PSG - 12:30 AM (Group H)
Matchday 3
4 Oct: Bayern Munich vs Viktoria Plzeň - 10:15 PM (Group C)
4 Oct: Marseille vs Sporting CP - 10:15 PM (Group C)
5 Oct: Liverpool vs Rangers - 12:30 AM (Group A)
5 Oct: Ajax vs Napoli - 12:30 AM (Group A)
5 Oct: FC Porto vs Bayer Leverkusen - 12:30 AM (Group B)
5 Oct: Club Brugge vs Atlético Madrid - 12:30 AM (Group B)
5 Oct: Inter vs FC Barcelona - 12:30 AM (Group C)
5 Oct: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham - 12:30 AM (Group D)
6 Oct: FC Salzburg vs Dinamo Zagreb - 10:15 PM (Group E)
6 Oct: RB Leipzig vs Celtic FC - 10:15 PM (Group F)
6 Oct: Chelsea vs AC Milan - 12:30 AM (Group E)
6 Oct: Real Madrid vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 12:30 AM (Group F)
6 Oct: Man City vs Copenhagen - 12:30 AM (Group G)
6 Oct: Sevilla vs Dortmund - 12:30 AM (Group G)
6 Oct: Juventus vs Maccabi Haifa FC - 12:30 AM (Group H)
6 Oct: SL Benfica vs Paris Saint-Germain - 12:30 AM (Group H)
Matchday 4
11 Oct: Copenhagen vs Man City - 10:15 PM (Group G)
11 Oct: Maccabi Haifa FC vs Juventus - 10:15 PM (Group H)
12 Oct: Dinamo Zagreb vs FC Salzburg - 12:30 AM (Group E)
12 Oct: AC Milan vs Chelsea FC - 12:30 AM (Group E)
12 Oct: Shakhtar Donetsk vs Real Madrid - 12:30 AM (Group F)
12 Oct: Celtic vs RB Leipzig - 12:30 AM (Group F)
12 Oct: Dortmund vs Sevilla - 12:30 AM (Group G)
12 Oct: PSG vs SL Benfica - 12:30 AM (Group H)
12 Oct: Napoli vs Ajax - 10:15 PM (Group A)
12 Oct: Atletico Madrid vs Club Brugge - 10:15 PM (Group B)
13 Oct: Rangers vs Liverpool - 12:30 AM (Group A)
13 Oct: Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Porto - 12:30 AM (Group B)
13 Oct: FC Barcelona vs Inter - 12:30 AM (Group C)
13 Oct: Viktoria Plzen vs Bayern Munich - 12:30 AM (Group C)
13 Oct: Tottenham vs Eintracht Frankfurt - 12:30 AM (Group D)
13 Oct: Sporting CP vs Marseille - 12:30 AM (Group D)
Matchday 5
25 Oct: FC Salzburg vs Chelsea - 10:15 PM (Group E)
25 Oct: Sevilla vs Copenhagen - 10:15 PM (Group G)
26 Oct: Dinamo Zagreb vs AC Milan - 12:30 AM (Group E)
26 Oct: Celtic vs Shakhtar Donetsk - 12:30 AM (Group F)
26 Oct: RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid - 12:30 AM (Group F)
26 Oct: Dortmund vs Man City - 12:30 AM (Group G)
26 Oct: PSG vs Maccabi Haifa - 12:30 AM (Group H)
26 Oct: SL Benfica vs Juventus - 12:30 AM (Group H)
26 Oct: Club Brugge vs FC Porto - 10:15 PM (Group B)
26 Oct: Inter vs Viktoria Plzen - 10:15 PM (Group C)
27 Oct: Napoli vs Rangers - 12:30 AM (Group A)
27 Oct: Ajax vs Liverpool - 12:30 AM (Group A)
27 Oct: Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen - 12:30 AM (Group B)
27 Oct: FC Barcelona vs Bayern Munich - 12:30 AM (Group C)
27 Oct: Tottenham vs Sporting CP - 12:30 AM (Group D)
27 Oct: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Marseille - 12:30 AM (Group D)
Matchday 6
1 Nov - FC Porto vs Atletico Madrid - 10:15 PM (Group B)
1 Nov: Bayer Leverkusen vs Club Brugge - 10:15 PM (Group B)
2 Nov: Liverpool vs Napoli - 1:30 AM (Group A)
2 Nov: Rangers vs Ajax - 1:30 AM (Group A)
2 Nov: Bayern Munich vs Inter - 1:30 AM (Group C)
2 Nov: Viktoria Plzen vs FC Barcelona - 1:30 AM (Group C)
2 Nov: Sporting CP vs Eintracht Frankfurt - 1:30 AM (Group D)
2 Nov: Marseille vs Tottenham - 1:30 AM (Group D)
2 Nov: Real Madrid CF vs Celtic FC - 10:30 PM (Group F)
2 Nov: Shakhtar Donetsk vs RB Leipzig - 10:30 PM (Group F)
3 Nov: Chelsea FC vs Dinamo Zagreb - 01:30 AM (Group E)
3 Nov: AC Milan vs FC Salzburg - 01:30 AM (Group E)
3 Nov: Man City vs Sevilla - 01:30 AM (Group G)
3 Nov: Copenhagen vs Dortmund - 01:30 AM (Group G)
3 Nov: Juventus vs PSG - 1:30 AM (Group H)
3 Nov: Maccabi Haifa vs SL Benfica - 1:30 AM (Group H)
