Pots confirmed for Champions League group stage draw
Let the games begin.
UEFA confirmed the pots for the 2017-18 Champions League group stage Thursday, after Liverpool, Sporting CP, Qarabag, CSKA Moscow, and APOEL Nicosia won their play-off fixtures to round out the 32 teams in the main draw.
The rules are few and simple. The winners of Europe's top leagues comprise Pot 1, and clubs from the same country cannot be drawn into the same group.
England has the luxury of fielding five teams at this stage of the tournament for the first time, with Manchester United qualifying as last season's Europa League winner.
The Red Devils secured a spot in Pot 2, despite missing the Champions League in two of the past three seasons.
Napoli, Tottenham, and Roma could only muster a place in Pot 3, while newcomer RB Leipzig settled for Pot 4.
Here's the rundown:
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot 2: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Manchester City, FC Porto, Manchester United
Pot 3: Napoli, Tottenham, FC Basel, Olympiacos, Anderlecht, Liverpool, Roma, Besiktas
Pot 4: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting CP, APOEL Nicosia, Feyenoord, NK Maribor, FK Qarabag, RB Leipzig
Thursday's draw will take place in Monaco at 12 p.m. ET.