UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 – Draw, Groups and Schedule

The draw for 2019/2020 season of Champions League took place in Monaco this Thursday, August 29, which revealed how the groups ahead of the most prestigious football tournament of the year will look like. Just like any year before, the 32 qualified teams got seeded into eight groups of four teams, giving us an insight of which teams will clash mid-September, hoping to overcome their opponents and earn a ticket for the CL playoffs.

UEFA Champions League 2019-2020 - groups
Image source: reddit.com

UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 Groups

GROUP A

  • PSG
  • Real Madrid
  • Club Brugge
  • Galatasaray

A fairly tough group, consisting of two football giants and two underdogs, who will hope to produce an upset and earn their spot in the playoffs. Yet it will be a very hard journey for Club Brugge and Galatasaray, who will have to be on top of their game to overcome the 13-times CL champions Real Madrid as well as the French champions PSG. Paris Saint-Germain will enter the upcoming CL scarred by two R16 exits, which did not go down well with the fans and the club owners, meaning a lot of pressure will be on them to perform. Coming out of the group stage should not pose many problems for the French giants, yet there are serious concerns about their chances going forward, with Neymar at the exit doors of the club.

 

GROUP B

  • Bayern Munich
  • Tottenham
  • Olympiacos
  • Crvena Zvezda

A very solid group, featuring two former Champions League champions and two teams who have not yet achieved that feat in their history. Despite what the first glance of the participating might suggest, it’s Bayern Munich and Crvena Zvezda who are the only two teams in group B who won the Champions League before. While boasting with a historic achievement, the Serbian club will have to produce something incredible to get out of the group stage here and the same goes for the Olympiacos. Both Bayern Munich and Tottenham are clear favourites here and should have no issues coming through and into the playoffs. That is, however, if they can withstand the immense pressure of playing away games at Karaiskakis Stadium and Rajko Mitic Stadium (Marakana).

GROUP C

  • Manchester City
  • Shakhtar Donetsk
  • Dinamo Zagreb
  • Atalanta

An interesting group, which at the first glance does not reveal which two teams will end up on top. While there is no doubt Man City will finish at the first spot, the second place finish which leads into playoffs is still wide open. Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta all possess enough talent to battle for the second place finish, yet it’s Atlanta who come out as the favourites to claim the final spot leading into final 16. The Italian side’s CL debut was well-earned and we believe they have enough quality to go deep here.

GROUP D

  • Juventus
  • Atletico Madrid
  • Leverkusen
  • Lokomotiv Moskva

The two undisputed favourites to finish at the top of Group D still have some unfinished business to settle, following Juventus incredible comeback against Atl Madrid last season, when they overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit to knock the Spanish team out in the round of 16. It will be an important season for last year’s hero Cristiano Ronaldo to perform up to par. He is turning 35 this year, meaning his time to win his sixth CL title is slowly running out. All things considered Juventus and Atl. Madrid are favourites to finish top two here and with a lot on the line for both outfits, we can’t see them underperforming against the two underdogs of the group D.

GROUP E

  • Liverpool
  • Napoli
  • Salzburg
  • Genk

Near perfect draw for Liverpool, who should not have any issues entering the final 16. Their biggest threat is Napoli, however, even they should not be too tough of a nut to crack for Klopp and his men. Last term Napoli and Liverpool traded wins, yet it’s hard to make a case Napoli enter this season any stronger. As it seems Salzburg and Genk will clash for the third place finish, which should be an interesting battle to watch. There is also a slim chance the Austrian team can push Napoli for the second place finish, yet they will have to be on top of their game to do so.

GROUP F

  • Barcelona
  • Dortmund
  • Inter
  • Slavia Praha

Group F, also known as the “group of death” features Barcelona, Dortmund, Inter Milan and Slavia Praha, who cannot be too happy with their draw. Barcelona will fancy their chances here, yet they are sweating with the presence of Inter Milan and Antonio Conte, who look very strong heading into the new season. That being said, Borussia Dortmund are not to be underestimated. The German side look much stronger compared to last season and should be able to compete for a domestic title as well as deep finish in CL. They are a team, who can produce remarkable results if everything clicks. Will that happen this term is yet to be seen, nonetheless, it will be very entertaining which of the three top dogs will fall short.

GROUP G

  • Zenit
  • Benfica
  • Lyon
  • Leipzig

Arguably one of the most interesting group, despite the absence of any top European team. Featuring Zenit, Benfica, Lyon and Leipzig, group G looks like the most evenly-matches out of all eight. Zenit and Benfica do come off as the strongest two teams, yet they cannot be too happy seeing Lyon and Leipzig on the other side, who are arguably the strongest two teams from the other two pots. It’s fair to say all four teams have a solid shot at coming out on top, meaning any mistake could and will cost them a playoffs ticket.

GROUP H

  • Chelsea
  • Ajax
  • Valencia
  • LOSC Lille

Last on the menu is group G, featuring Europa League champions Chelsea, 2018/19 Champions League semi-finalists Ajax, Valencia and Lille. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea perform under a new coach (Lampard) and can Ajax repeat their run from last season, despite selling both Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt this summer. Valencia might be able to produce an upset win against Ajax and Chelsea if given a chance. The French side, however, look like they will struggle walking away with anything here, considering they have sold a couple of key players this summer. A third place finish will be their goal, yet even that will not be easy to achieve.

UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 – Schedule and Fixtures

Matchday one

  • Tuesday 17 September
    Group E: Napoli v Liverpool, Salzburg v Genk
    Group F: Inter v Slavia Praha (18:55 CET), Dortmund v Barcelona
    Group G: Lyon v Zenit (18:55 CET), Benfica v Leipzig
    Group H: Chelsea v Valencia, Ajax v LOSC Lille

 

  • Wednesday 18 September
    Group A: Club Brugge v Galatasaray (18:55 CET), Paris v Real Madrid
    Group B: Olympiacos v Tottenham (18:55 CET), Bayern v Crvena zvezda
    Group C: Shakhtar v Manchester City, Dinamo Zagreb v Atalanta
    Group D: Atlético v Juventus, Leverkusen v Lokomotiv Moskva

Matchday two

  • Tuesday 1 October
  • Group A: Real Madrid v Club Brugge (18:55 CET), Galatasaray v Paris
    Group B: Tottenham v Bayern, Crvena zvezda v Olympiacos
    Group C: Atalanta v Shakhtar (18:55 CET), Manchester City v Dinamo Zagreb
    Group D: Juventus v Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moskva v Atlético

 

  • Wednesday 2 October
    Group E: Genk v Napoli (18:55 CET), Liverpool v Salzburg
    Group F: Slavia Praha v Dortmund (18:55 CET), Barcelona v Inter
    Group G: Zenit v Benfica, Leipzig v Lyon
    Group H: Valencia v Ajax, LOSC Lille v Chelsea

Matchday three

  • Tuesday 22 October
    Group A: Club Brugge v Paris, Galatasaray v Real Madrid
    Group B: Tottenham v Crvena zvezda, Olympiacos v Bayern
    Group C: Shakhtar v Dinamo Zagreb (18:55 CET), Manchester City v Atalanta
    Group D: Atlético v Leverkusen (18:55 CET), Juventus v Lokomotiv Moskva

 

  • Wednesday 23 October
    Group E: Salzburg v Napoli, Genk v Liverpool
    Group F: Inter v Dortmund, Slavia Praha v Barcelona
    Group G: Leipzig v Zenit (18:55 CET), Benfica v Lyon
    Group H: Ajax v Chelsea (18:55 CET), LOSC Lille v Valencia

Matchday four

  • Tuesday 5 November
    Group E: Liverpool v Genk, Napoli v Salzburg
    Group F: Barcelona v Slavia Praha (18:55 CET), Dortmund v Inter
    Group G: Zenit v Leipzig (18:55 CET), Lyon v Benfica
    Group H: Chelsea v Ajax, Valencia v LOSC Lille

 

  • Wednesday 6 November
    Group A: Paris v Club Brugge, Real Madrid v Galatasaray
    Group B: Bayern v Olympiacos (18:55 CET), Crvena zvezda v Tottenham
    Group C: Dinamo Zagreb v Shakhtar, Atalanta v Manchester City
    Group D: Lokomotiv Moskva v Juventus (18:55 CET), Leverkusen v Atlético

Matchday five

  • Tuesday 26 November
    Group A: Galatasaray v Club Brugge (18:55 CET), Real Madrid v Paris
    Group B: Tottenham v Olympiacos, Crvena zvezda v Bayern
    Group C: Manchester City v Shakhtar, Atalanta v Dinamo Zagreb
    Group D: Lokomotiv Moskva v Leverkusen (18:55 CET), Juventus v Atlético

 

  • Wednesday 27 November
    Group E: Liverpool v Napoli, Genk v Salzburg
    Group F: Barcelona v Dortmund, Slavia Praha v Inter
    Group G: Zenit v Lyon (18:55 CET), Leipzig v Benfica
    Group H: Valencia v Chelsea (18:55 CET), LOSC Lille v Ajax

Matchday six

  • Tuesday 10 December
    Group E: Napoli v Genk (18:55 CET), Salzburg v Liverpool (18:55 CET)
    Group F: Dortmund v Slavia Praha, Inter v Barcelona
    Group G: Benfica v Zenit, Lyon v Leipzig
    Group H: Chelsea v LOSC Lille, Ajax v Valencia

 

  • Wednesday 11 December
    Group A: Paris v Galatasaray, Club Brugge v Real Madrid
    Group B: Bayern v Tottenham, Olympiacos v Crvena zvezda
    Group C: Shakhtar v Atalanta (18:55 CET), Dinamo Zagreb v Manchester City (18:55 CET)
    Group D: Atlético v Lokomotiv Moskva, Leverkusen v Juventus
Knockout stage

Round of 16
Draw: 16 December
First legs: 18/19 & 25/26 February
Second legs: 10/11 & 17/18 March

Quarter-finals

Draw: 20 March
First legs: 7/8 April
Second legs: 14/15 April

Semi-finals

Draw: 20 March
First legs: 28/29 April
Second legs: 5/6 May

Where will be played the finals of the UEFA Champions League 2019/2020?

The Final of the UEFA Champions League 2019/2020 will take place at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadı in Istanbul on May 30, 2020.

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