The UEFA Champions League group stage starts today. What do you need to know?

On September 19, the first eight matches of the group stage of the main club tournament in Europe - UEFA Champions League - will take place.

This season, teams will compete in a classic format: 32 participants are divided into eight groups of four teams each. The two best clubs from each quartet advance to the next stage. The third team from each group will play in the UEFA Europa League round play-off. The last places end the European Cup campaign.

A total of 15 countries will be represented in the group stage: Spain, England, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, Denmark, Turkey, Netherlands, Scotland, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Belgium, Austria.

Based on the results of the national championships, 26 clubs received places in the group stage. Another six reached this stage of the competition through qualification: Braga, PSV Eindhoven, Copenhagen, Young Boys, Galatasaray, Antwerp.

• Group A: Bayern, Manchester United, Copenhagen, Galatasaray
• Group B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Lens
• Group C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin
• Group D: Benfica, Inter Milan, Red Bull Salzburg, Real Sociedad
• Group E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic
• Group F: Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Milan, Newcastle United
• Group G: Manchester City, RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys
• Group H: Barcelona, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Antwerp

Union Berlin and Antwerp will make their debut in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

The group stage will last from September 19 to December 13.

• Matchday 1: September 19-20
• Matchday 2: October 3-4
• Matchday 3: October 24-25
• Matchday 4: November 7-8
• Matchday 5: November 28-29
• Matchday 6: December 12-13

This is the final competition of the Champions League, which takes place in a group format. From next season, UEFA will introduce a League Stage, where all teams in the group stage will be in the same group.