UEFA Champions League
Champions League 2022/23: All you need to know
As the Champions League action heats up, we’ve taken a look at all you need to know – from the important Champions League dates in the calendar, to the fixtures, to which teams are the favourites.
Read on below to find out more, including the latest football betting odds.
What are the Champions League 2022-23 matchday & draw dates?
The 68th season of Europe’s elite club competition is the 31st since it was rebranded, with Champions League matches running from 21 June 2022 to 10 June 2023.
The Champions League group stage kicks off on September 6, with the last 16 games taking place in February and March 2023. The draw is held on November 7.
After that, the draw for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final (to decide the ‘home team’) will be held on March 17, with those games set to be played across April, May and June.
| Phase | Draw date | Game dates |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | June 7, 2022 | June 21-24 |
| First qualifying round | June 14, 2022 | July 5-6, 12-13 |
| Second qualifying round | June 15, 2022 | July 19-20, 26-27 |
| Third qualifying round | July 18, 2022 | August 2-3, 9 |
| Play-off | August 2, 2022 | August 16-17, 23-24 |
| Group stage | August 25, 2022 | September 6 - November 2 |
| Last 16 | November 7, 2022 | February 14-15, 21-22 & March 7-8, 14-15 |
| Quarter-final | March 17, 2023 | April 11-12, 18-19 |
| Semi-final | March 17, 2023 | May 9-10 & May 16-17 |
| Final | Jun-10 |
What are the Champions League groups?
The Champions League group stage for 2022/23 has yet to be decided, with the draw confirming the group line-ups commencing on Thursday, August 25.
There are 26 teams that have automatically qualified for the group stage of the competition. The remaining six qualifying teams will be decided via the Champions League playoffs, where four teams will be introduced via the champions path and two via the league path.
Teams automatically qualified:
ENG: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham
ESP: Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla
ITA: Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli
GER: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen
FRA: Marseille, PSG
POR: Porto, Sporting CP
NED: Ajax
BEL: Club Brugge
AUT: RB Salzburg
SCO: Celtic
UKR: Shakhtar Donetsk
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When are the Champions League group stage fixtures?
September
6/7 September: Group stage, Matchday 1
13/14 September: Group stage, Matchday 2
October
4/5 October: Group stage, Matchday 311/12 October: Group stage, Matchday 4
25/26 November: Group stage, Matchday 5
November
1/2 November: Group stage, Matchday 6
When and where will the 2023 Champions League final be held?
The final of the 2022/23 Champions League will take place at the home of the Turkish national team, Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
The ground was the scene of one of the most iconic Champions League finals of all time in 2005, when Liverpool famously defeated AC Milan on penalties after going 3-0 in the first half. Dubbed the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’, the match went down in history as one of the greatest ever in the competition.
What are the latest Champions League odds?
Though the group stage line-up of the 2022/23 Champions League has yet to be drawn, the quality and form of the teams automatically qualified are usually good indicators as to how well they could do in the tournament. However, PSG, who are 6/1 to win the Champions League this season, have shown that even when the odds are stacked in a team’s favour, it does not necessarily correlate with how well they will do.
Knocked out last year by eventual victors Real Madrid, who are 8/1 to win again in 2022/23, PSG were eliminated from the Champions League without lifting the trophy for the 14th time in a row, despite possessing some of the best and highest-earning players in the world.
English champions Manchester City are the favourites at 5/2 to win this year’s Champions League. With the addition of the budding superstar Erling Haaland, they will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with come the group stages in September.
Runners up in 2021/22, Liverpool, are the second favourites to win the competition at 9/2, despite a rocky start to the season by their high standards. Bayern Munich, the 2019/20 champions, are 6/1, and after scoring 15 goals in the first three matches of the league season so far, they might be on their way towards more European glory.
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