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The UEFA Champions League Draw is scheduled to be conducted on August 30, 2018 at 5 pm BST (10:30 pm IST) in Monaco, France. Europe's top 32 sides from last season will fight for the European Champions crown, which will ultimately be decided on June 2, 2019 at Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain.
Last season, Real Madrid toppled Liverpool to win the coveted competition and take the trophy to the Spanish capital for the third consecutive time. That match was an interesting one to watch, with Liverpool stopper Loris Karius giving away two goals, which proved costly for Liverpool in the final.
Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale scored 3 goals between them to win against a Liverpool side which only managed one goal through Sadio Mane.
The 32 teams for the 2018-19 Champions League are as follows:
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, Paris St Germain, Lokomotiv Moscow
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica, Napoli, Tottenham, AS Roma
Pot 3: Liverpool, Schalke, Lyon, Monaco, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia
Pot 4: Viktoria Plzen, Brugge, Galatasaray, Young Boys, Inter Milan, Hoffenheim, Red Star Belgrade, AEK Athens
AS Roma tried to make some early predictions about how the draw could pan out, using a simulator, and the results were astonishing. Have a look below:
Well, if it were to come even close to what Roma have simulated, Group B would be the group of death to avoid. Even, calling it 'the group of death' doesn't tell the strength, of the teams involved, in full. Barcelona, United, Ajax & Inter -- all ties in this group appear mouth-watering.
Group A isn't far behind, in terms of competition, with Atletico, Napoli and Liverpool, all in the same group. These three are among the European elite and flourished well last season.
The rest of the groups have two clear qualifiers in each of them, but the UCL always produces some shockers every season and, hence, only time will tell which clubs will be heading to the knockouts after the group games.
When it comes to their recent European record, the Spanish teams have dominated the scene with the Germans coming second behind them. However, the English teams have been a total disappointment considering the English Premier League is often reckoned as the most competitive league in Europe.
The last time an EPL team won the most prestigious title in Europe was back in 2012, when Chelsea pulled a shocker to defeat Bayern Munich in the final, held in Allianz Arena -- the German team's own backyard. Since then, only Liverpool came the closest to winning the prize, when they were dismantled by a rampant Gareth Bale, against Real Madrid.
Apart from the draw, the 'UEFA Best Player in Europe' and other awards will also be declared during the ceremony.
There is little doubt that Real Madrid will be looking to continue their UCL dominance, whereas European giants such as Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Juventus will be hoping to find glory themselves.
Which teams would you love to see paired up for group stage action? Let us know in the comments below.
