The 2019-20 Champions League kicked off in early summer, just a few weeks after the curtain fell on the 2018-19 tournament.
Europe's elite will look to nip England's resurgence in the bud after witnessing the Premier League deliver all four finalists for UEFA's club competitions.
Lionel Messi's quest for a fifth continental crown with Barcelona continues, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be expected to inspire Juventus to its first title since 1996.
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Record-breaking Real Madrid, meanwhile, will be aiming to return to the summit and there is always room for a bolt from the blue, a la Ajax in last season's edition.
Goal brings you everything you need to know about the 2019-20 tournament, including which teams have qualified, fixtures and more.
Which teams have qualified for the 2019-20 Champions League?
The makeup of the 2019-20 Champions League group stage is complete. Heavyweights such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich qualified by virtue of their league positions, as did Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.
Semifinalists Ajax, meanwhile, were among the last teams to clinch a place in the group stage, beating APOEL 2-0 on aggregate in Wednesday's playoff second leg to seal its spot.
Slavia Prague, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb also clinched a group berth throughout the playoff round in the days immediately prior to Thursday's draw (noon ET).
There is no place, however, for Manchester United or for Arsenal, which lost the Europa League final to Chelsea.
You can see the teams that have qualified for the group stage below.
Champions League 2019-20 group stage teams
| Pot One | Pot Two | Pot Three | Pot Four |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Real Madrid | Lyon | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| Chelsea | Atletico Madrid | Bayer Leverkusen | Genk |
| Barcelona | Borussia Dortmund | Red Bull Salzburg | Red Star Belgrade |
| Manchester City | Napoli | Olympiacos | Galatasaray |
| Juventus | Shakthar Donetsk | Club Brugge | RB Leipzig |
| Bayern Munich | Tottenham | Valencia | Slavia Prague |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Ajax | Inter | Atalanta |
| Zenit | Benfica | Dinamo Zagreb | Lille |
Champions League 2019-20 groups & seeding
The groups will not be known until all 32 group-stage participants are finalized and the draw takes place on Aug. 29. Teams will be divided into four seeding pots, each featuring eight teams.
When does the 2019-20 Champions League start?
It may come as a surprise to some that the 2019-20 Champions League got underway less than a month after the 2018-19 final, so there wasn't actually a huge break between editions.
Of course, it will take a while before the proverbial big guns enter the competition, but Europe's premier club competition returned as early as the end of June.
The draw for the preliminary round took place on June 11, less than two weeks after the final and fixtures began on June 25.
You can see the tournament fixture dates in the table below.
| Phase | Draw date | Game dates |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Jun 11 | Jun 25 / 28 |
| First qualifying round | Jun 18 | Jul 9 / 10 / 16 / 17 |
| Second qualifying round | Jun 18 | Jul 23 / 24 / 30 / 31 |
| Third qualifying round | Jul 22 | Aug 6 / 7 / 13 |
| Playoff | Aug 5 | Aug 20 / 21 / 27 / 28 |
| Group stage | Aug 29 | Sep 17 - Dec 11 |
| Last 16 | Dec 16 | Feb 18 / 19 / 25 / 26 & Mar 10 / 11 / 17 /18 |
| Quarterfinal | Mar 20 | Apr 7 / 8 / 14 /15 |
| Semifinal | Mar 20 | Apr 28 / 29 & May 6 / 7 |
| Final | Mar 20 | May 30 |
Where is the 2019-20 Champions League final?
The 2019-20 Champions League final will take place in Turkey at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
A 76,000-seat venue, Ataturk Stadium previously staged the Champions League final in 2005, which saw Liverpool pull off a remarkable comeback against AC Milan, dubbed "The Miracle of Istanbul," to lift the trophy.
First opened in 2002, it is the biggest football stadium in the country and is home to the Turkey national team, as well as serving as a temporary venue for the likes of Galatasaray, Istanbul Basaksehir, Kasimpasa and Besiktas.
