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Champions League draw fixtures: When are the next Champions League games after the draw?
THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE is now set to return to our screens next month, and teams are being drawn to determine who plays who right now. What are the next Champions League games following the draw?
UEFA Champions League tease 2018 draw
Champions League fever is to grip the country once again as teams prepare to find out who they’re playing in their first games come September.
Odds this year have priced former winners Real Madrid at a much lower chance of winning despite having lifted the trophy in each of the past three seasons.
Major changes in leadership have come as Cristiano Ronaldo moves over to Italian side Juventus, putting Real at a disadvantage.
With some of the groups now decided for the upcoming games, when will the first matches be?
When are the next Champion’s League games?
The official draw for the Champion’s League is taking place today, to be streamed live on UEFA’s official website from 5pm today.
After the draw, football fans will be waiting a little while before the first matches take place.
The first round of matches will begin next month, on September 18 and 19.
From there, the tournament will continue for nearly a year, culminating in a final at Wanda Metropolitano stadium from June 1 2019.
The draw itself will determine who exactly is to play the first proper games of the Champion’s League.
So far, the teams entered into pots ready to be drawn have been decided as the time approaches.
Rules this year have stated that no two teams from the same country will be drawn in the same group.
UEFA has also decided that teams from Russia and the Ukraine cannot play off against one another.
How do the Champion’s League pots work?
The first pot in the Champions League consists of last year’s Champions and Europa League winners.
Champions from each of the six-highest ranked nations taking part will also be included, which means the Spanish sides Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are all in the running.
The other three pots are confirmed via club coefficients - a ranking system banking on how well clubs in Europe have performed over the previous five years.
What are the Champions League pots?
This year’s pots are:
Pot one
Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, PSG, Lokomotiv Moscow
Pot two
Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica, Napoli, Tottenham, Roma
Pot three
Liverpool, Schalke, Lyon, Monaco, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia
Pot four
Viktoria Plzen, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Young Boys, Internazionale, Hoffenheim, Red Star Belgrade, AEK Athens