Champions League draw: the pots confirmed
European giants including Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus will find out their Champions League groups on Thursday.
The final qualifying rounds concluded on Wednesday, with Benfica, PSV and Red Star Belgrade booking their place at Europe's top table.
As always the draw will be complicated and convoluted, but UEFA has confirmed the four pots that will make up the group stage.
Benfica's qualification means Liverpool have landed in pot three despite reaching the final last season, losing to Real Madrid after a pair of Loris Karius errors.
August 30, 2018
Pot 1
Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Lokomotiv
The top pot consists of Champions League holders Real Madrid, Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and the champions of each of Europe's top six leagues. This explains why Russian Premier League side Lokomotiv are included. With Madrid and Juventus in the same pot, Cristiano Ronaldo cannot come up against the LaLiga giants in the group stage of his first European campaign for the Bianconeri. Neither can Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar return to Camp Nou to face Barcelona at this stage.
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, Inter Milan, Hoffenheim, Red Star Belgrade, AEK Athens
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