Manchester United to learn Champions League group stage opponents on Thursday
Manchester United will learn their Champions League group stage opponents when the draw is made on Thursday evening.
The Red are back competing in Europe’s most prestigious competition after claiming a third-placed finish during the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
Erik ten Hag’s side will be placed in Pot 2 ahead of Thursday’s draw in Monaco, which is due to begin from 5pm, but knowing how UEFA events take place we can expect it to all to kick off later than the scheduled time.
United will face a team from Pot One, Two and Three – but that excludes English clubs.
The top two teams in each group will advance to the round of 16 whereas the third-placed sides will drop into the Europa League knockout round play-offs.
Neither Ten Hag or his players want to be anywhere near that second-rate competition again because a club like United needs to be competing in the Champions League.
Pot 1: Man City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, PSG, Benfica, Feyenoord.
Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, FC Porto, Arsenal.
Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Salzburg, AC Milan, SC Braga, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio, Crvena Zvezda, FC Copenhagen.
Pot 4: Young Boys, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Celtic, Newcastle United, FC Union Berlin, Royal Antwerp, FC Lens.
Group stage dates
Matchday 1: 19/20 September 2023
Matchday 2: 3/4 October 2023
Matchday 3: 24/25 October 2023
Matchday 4: 7/8 November 2023
Matchday 5: 28/29 November 2023
Matchday 6: 12/13 December 2023
Let us know your preferred group stage opponents in the comments section.
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