Champions League 2018-19: Which teams have qualified, when the draws are

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The 2018-19 Champions League is already under way and the first few rounds have been decided.

Europe’s premier club competition will have a slightly different feel to it this season but the general schedule of the tournament is the same, with the early qualifying rounds taking place in June, July and August, over two months ahead of the group stage, which commences in September.

There are more group stage places reserved for teams from certain countries, meaning that the overall qualification process has become somewhat more competitive.

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A total of 32 teams will take part in the group stage of the 2018-19 Champions League. Twenty-six teams enter at this stage and they are joined by the six winners from the play-off round.
The draw is due to be held in Monaco on August 30 following the conclusion of all ties in the play-off round, with the first group-stage matches set to be played on September 18 and 19.

The teams will be drawn into eight groups of four and they will be divided into four pots of eight for the purposes of the draw. Pot One will contain the reigning champions, as well as the Europa League champions and the title winners from the top six leagues. Pots Two, Three and Four will contain the remaining 24 teams, seeded based on their UEFA coefficient.

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Teams from the same country cannot be drawn against each other in the group stage.

Two teams enter at the play-off stage in the ‘champions path’, where they are joined by the six winners from the champions path third qualifying round.

August 6 is the date for the play-off round draw and games will take place later that month; first leg matches are scheduled for August 21 and 22, while second leg matches are pencilled in for August 28 and 29.

The losing teams from both the champions path and the league path will enter the Europa League group stage.

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The third qualifying round is split into two sections (‘champions path’ and ‘league path’). Two teams enter the champions path, where they are joined by the 10 second qualifying round winners (champions path), while five teams enter the league path, where they are joined by the three winners of the league path second qualifying round.

The draw for the third qualifying round is scheduled to take place on July 23, with first leg matches being played on August 7 and 8 before the second legs on August 14.

The losing teams from the champions path will enter the Europa League play-off round, while the losers from the league path drop directly into the Europa League group stage.

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The second qualifying round of the Champions League was split into two sections: the ‘champions path’ and the ‘league path’.

A total of nine teams entered at this stage of the competition – three in the champions path and six in the league path. The three teams in the champions path were joined by the 17 winners from the first qualifying round.

The draw was held at the same time as the first qualifying round on June 19. First leg games were played on July 24 and 25, with second legs taking place on July 31 and August 1.

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The losing teams at this stage of the qualification process dropped into the Europa League third qualifying round.

A total of 34 teams took part in the first qualifying round: the 33 teams that entered at that stage of the competition and the winners of the preliminary round.

The draw for the first qualifying round was held on June 19, with first legs being played on July 10 and 11 and the second legs taking place on July 17 and 18.

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Losers from this stage of the competition dropped into the Europa League second qualifying round.

The preliminary round featured four teams and in 2018-19 they were the champions of Andorra, Gibraltar, Kosovo and San Marino.

The draw took place on June 12, with the semi-final to be played on June 26 and the final taking place on June 29.

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