With Europe’s major leagues entering their final straights, we look at who would be in the 2018/19 group stage if the season ended now.
We’re well into the knockout stage of this season’s edition, but what would the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League group stage look like if Europe’s major domestic leagues ended now?
2018/19 group stage as it stands
ESP: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Valencia
GER: Bayern München*, Schalke, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen
ENG: Manchester City*, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur
ITA: Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Lazio
FRA: Paris Saint-Germain*, Monaco
RUS: Lokomotiv Moskva, CSKA Moskva
POR: Porto
UKR: Shakhtar Donetsk
BEL: Club Brugge
TUR: Galatasaray
Seventeen of these 24 clubs took part in this season’s group stage.
Teams in bold will definitely finish in one of the qualifying places.
*clinched Pot 1 slot as champion of a top-seven ranked nation
How it works
Changes to the access list for 2018–21 were announced in August 2016, with the top four clubs from the four top-ranked national associations – certain to be Spain, Germany, England and Italy for next season – going straight into the group stage.
The winners of the previous season’s UEFA Europa League – previously assured of only a play-off place as a minimum – will also be guaranteed entry to the competition proper as of next term. The UEFA Champions League holders also qualify automatically. The full explanation of how these two automatic berths are filled if the UEFA Champions League and/or UEFA Europa League winners also qualify via their domestic route is available here.
The six remaining berths will be decided via qualifying.
All based on provisional standings up to and including Monday 23 April. Line-up for next season’s UEFA Champions League will be subject to final confirmation by UEFA in the summer.
