2020-21 Champions League group stage draw

Champions League group stage draw

Follow our live updates as Liverpool discover their opponents in the 2020-21 Champions League group stage.

To be continued...

That's all from our live coverage of today's Champions League group stage draw.

As mentioned, we'll bring you confirmation of the Group D fixtures as soon as we have them, which is expected to be Friday.

The schedule begins on October 20/21 and we're sure you're the same as us - we can't wait!

Stat attack

  • Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 13 European fixtures against Dutch opposition, winning eight and drawing five since a 5-1 defeat at Ajax in the European Cup in December 1966.
  • The Reds will meet Atalanta for the very first time, the ninth Italian club they have faced in all competitions (also Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Juventus, Milan, Napoli, Roma and Udinese).
  • Midtjylland will be just the third Danish side to face Liverpool in European competition, after Odense Boldklub in the 1983-84 European Cup and Brondby in the 1995-96 UEFA Cup.

Group-stage fixture details are expected to be released on Friday. Stay logged on to Liverpoolfc.com for confirmation of when the Reds will be facing Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland.

The Danish champions represent another new opponent for the Reds.

FC Midtjylland complete Group D...

Group D
Liverpool
Ajax
Atalanta
FC Midtjylland

It'll be a first-ever meeting between Liverpool and Atalanta, who reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2019-20.

Atalanta are the latest team into Group D...

Group D
Liverpool
Ajax
Atalanta

Two sides with a rich European heritage but this will be only the third and fourth competitive meetings between the Reds and Ajax.

They previously clashed in the 1966-67 European Cup and Bill Shankly's Liverpool were beaten 7-3 on aggregate.

Ajax join Liverpool in Group D...

Group D
Liverpool
Ajax

We're under way...

Liverpool have been drawn in Group D.

Earlier today, we asked followers of our Match Centre to vote on the teams they'd like to face from each pot. Here are the results...

Pot two

Pot three

Pot four

It'll be a long road to get there, of course, but worth noting that the Ataturk Stadium - the venue for Liverpool's incredible 2005 Champions League triumph - is set to host the final in 2021...

Rule update

Teams will be permitted to name a matchday squad of 23 players in the Champions League this season, with five substitutions allowed in each game.

It's almost time...

Beautiful.

2019-20 group stage

Liverpool collected 13 points from their six group matches last season to qualify for the last 16 for the third consecutive year.

Salzburg and Genk were beaten home and away by the Reds, who also had a draw and a defeat against Napoli.

Did you know?

Liverpool's next goal in this competition will be their 250th of the Champions League era.

There's the possibility of a Reds reunion for goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in the draw, with his current side Club Brugge in pot four.

"It's not a must for me. It will certainly be nice, but I'm not one to hope for it," said the former Liverpool stopper, who switched between the clubs last summer.

"Let's just hope for a group where we can show our quality. However, there are no easy games in the Champions League."

A reminder of Liverpool's history in this competition...

Liverpool have plenty of history with four of their five potential opponents from pot two.

But Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk would be a completely new foe for the Reds, with the sides never having met competitively before.

Shakhtar were eliminated in the group stage last season and went on to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Thiago Alcantara could receive an award today, too.

The Spain international, now a Liverpool player of course, was hugely influential during Bayern's surge to the European Cup last season and has been shortlisted for Champions League Midfielder of the Season.

He's up against Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and former teammate Thomas Muller.

The gaffer is also up for an award at this afternoon's draw.

Klopp has been nominated for the UEFA Men's Coach of the Year accolade - and is up against Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich) and Julian Nagelsmann (RB Leipzig).

The winner will be revealed during the ceremony.

Roll of honour

Bayern Munich's Champions League triumph in August brought the Bundesliga side level with Liverpool on six European Cups - with only Real Madrid and AC Milan boasting more.

Real Madrid - 13
AC Milan - 7
Liverpool - 6
Bayern Munich - 6
Barcelona - 5

You don't need us to tell you Liverpool have scaled the heights of European football under Klopp before... but it does give us an excuse to share and watch the video below for the 4,920th time!

Fixture schedule

There's a crammed schedule of Champions League games to come this season, with matchdays provisionally planned as follows.

Matchday one: October 20/21
Matchday two: October 27/28
Matchday three: November 3/4
Matchday four: November 24/25
Matchday five: December 1/2
Matchday six: December 8/9

The pots

As you can see below, the Reds are seeded in pot one for the draw having won the Premier League last season.

With clubs from the same country unable to face each other at this stage of the tournament, there are five possible opponents for Jürgen Klopp's men in pot two.

But they can be drawn alongside any of the eight teams in pots three and four respectively.

Hello and welcome

Liverpool's on-pitch focus is firmly on tonight's Carabao Cup fourth-round clash with Arsenal, but it's a significant day off the pitch, too.

The Reds will soon discover their three opponents in the forthcoming Champions League group stage, with the draw set to take place in Geneva from 4pm BST.

Follow it all right here.

Classic CL matches