UEFA Champions League draw will hold today in Istanbul.
Gatekeepers News reports that Titleholders – Chelsea and their European rivals will know their opponents in this season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) at the group stage draw in Istanbul today (Thursday) at 5:00 pm Nigerian time.
Restrictions associated with the Coronavirus pandemic have stopped the Turkish metropolis from hosting the final of the competition in each of the last two seasons where the game was moved at the last minute to Portugal in successive years.
In May, Gatekeepers News reported that Chelsea defeated Manchester City in Porto to claim the league. The two English clubs will be among the favourites to go all the way this season.
Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel after winning the trophy last season said “Nobody wants to rest. I want the next one, the next title.”
Tuchel’s Chelsea and Pep Guardiola’s City are both in the first pot of seeds for the draw.
The ceremony will also witness the awarding of UEFA’s best player for last season where a three-man shortlist of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Kevin De Bruyne is already on the ground.
Also in the first pot of seeds are last season’s Europa League winners, Villarreal, alongside Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon, and Lille.
In the second pot are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain which will attract even more attention following Lionel Messi’s change of club.
Also appearing in the draw are Ajax, Benfica, and AC Milan who joined the Europe elites club for the first time since 2013/2014 after coming second in Serie A last season.
The UCL group stage will kick off on September 14 and 15, with the final being held – all going to plan – in Saint Petersburg on May 28, 2021.
Meanwhile, the draw for the group stage of the Europa League and the new third-tier Europa Conference League will also take place in Istanbul on Friday.
