There is very little rest for UEFA as they get ready for another edition of their flagship continental club competition
The 2019-20 Champions League kicks off in early summer, just a few weeks after the curtain falls on the 2018-19 tournament.
Europe’s elite will look to nip England‘s resurgence in the bud after witnessing the Premier League deliver all four finalists for UEFA’s club competitions.
Lionel Messi’s quest for a fifth continental crown with Barcelona continues, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be expected to inspire Juventus to their first title since 1996.
Record-breaking Real Madrid, meanwhile, will be aiming to return to the summit and there is always room for a bolt from the blue, a la Ajax in last season’s edition.
Goal brings you everything you need to know about the 2019-20 tournament, including which teams have qualified, fixtures and more.
Which teams have qualified for the 2019-20 Champions League?
The make-up of the 2019-20 Champions League group stage is mostly complete, with around a quarter of the places up for grabs.
Heavyweights such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich have qualified by virtue of their league positions, as have Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
There is no place, however, for Manchester United or for Arsenal, who lost the Europa League final to Chelsea.
You can see the teams that have qualified for the group stage below.
Champions League 2019-20 group stage teams
While most group-stage berths are already confirmed, teams will also make their way through the various qualifying rounds in an attempt to claim one of the remaining six places.
The road to those six places continued on August 20 with Ajax drawing 0-0 with APOEL in their first leg while Club Brugge and Slavia Prague took down LASK and CFR Cluj 1-0, respectively, in their opening legs.
The following evening Olympiacos took a commanding 4-0 first-leg lead over Krasnodar while Dinamo Zagreb beat Rosenborg 2-0 and Red Star Belgrade scored two away goals in a draw with Young Boys.
Champions League 2019-20 groups & seeding
The groups will not be known until all 32 group-stage participants are finalised and the draw takes place on August 29.
Teams will be divided into four seeding pots, each featuring eight teams, and the seeding composition will become clearer closer to the draw.
However, we already know that Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus, Bayern Munich, PSG and Zenit will be in Pot One, along with the winners of the Champions League (Liverpool) and the Europa League (Chelsea).
When does the 2019-20 Champions League start?
It may come as a surprise to some that the 2019-20 Champions League gets underway less than a month after the 2018-19 final, so there’s not actually a huge break between editions.
Of course, it will be a while before the proverbial big guns enter the competition, but Europe’s premier club competition returns as early as the end of June.
The draw for the preliminary round takes place on June 11, less than two weeks after the final and fixtures begin on June 25.
You can see the tournament fixture dates in the table below.
| Phase | Draw date | Game dates |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | Jun 11 | Jun 25 / 28 |
| First qualifying round | Jun 18 | Jul 9 / 10 / 16 / 17 |
| Second qualifying round | Jun 18 | Jul 23 / 24 / 30 / 31 |
| Third qualifying round | Jul 22 | Aug 6 / 7 / 13 |
| Play-off | Aug 5 | Aug 20 / 21 / 27 / 28 |
| Group stage | Aug 29 | Sep 17 – Dec 11 |
| Last 16 | Dec 16 | Feb 18 / 19 / 25 / 26 & Mar 10 / 11 / 17 /18 |
| Quarter-final | Mar 20 | Apr 7 / 8 / 14 /15 |
| Semi-final | Mar 20 | Apr 28 / 29 & May 6 / 7 |
| Final | Mar 20 | May 30 |
Where is the 2019-20 Champions League final?
The 2019-20 Champions League final will take place in Turkey at Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
A 76,000-seater venue, Ataturk Stadium previously staged the Champions League final in 2005, which saw Liverpool pull off a remarkable comeback against AC Milan – dubbed ‘The Miracle of Istanbul’ – to lift the trophy.
First opened in 2002, it is the biggest football stadium in the country and is home to the Turkey national team, as well as serving as a temporary venue for the likes of Galatasaray, Istanbul Basaksehir, Kasimpasa and Besiktas.
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