Although the regulations no longer require the use of regional groups (as used before 2009), UEFA still uses some kind of regionalization in CL-Q2 and EL-Q1. At first the clubs are divided into seeded and unseeded teams, and then the seeded and unseeded teams are split into regional groups. The general approach seems to use the North/Central/South scheme, but no specific rules are known.
The clubs defeated in the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds are eliminated from the competition. The 15 clubs defeated in the 3rd qualifying round are entitled to play in the 4th qualifying round of the Europa League, and the 10 clubs defeated in the 4th qualifying round are entitled to play in the group stage of the Europa League. The 3rd and 4th qualifying rounds are split into two sections: one for champions and one for non-champions.
The Champions League title holder spot is not used since Real Madrid already qualified for the group stage by the domestic league. This implies that the Europa League title holder, Sevilla, gains access to the Champions League group stage.
On May 18 the UEFA Executive Committee decided that the domestic champion and the domestic cup winner of Kosovo will be admitted to the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. For this season the clubs of Kosovo will have to meet the special permission licensing criteria under article 15 of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations. However, the Kosovar clubs did not get a license. This implies that the champion of the 46th country on the ranking list (Latvia) has direct access to the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League, and the cup winner of the 28th country on the ranking list (Slovenia) has direct access to the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League.
| 1st Qualifying Round (8 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- The New Saints Wal 5.200 B36 Torshavn Far 1.975 Valletta FC Mlt 4.466 Lincoln Red Imps Gib 1.700 Flora Tallinn Est 3.350 Alashkert FC Arm 1.325 FC Santa Coloma And 2.699 Tre Penne Sma 1.316 |
Unseeded teams in the 1st qualifying round that qualify for the next round take effectively the coefficient of their opponent in the next round: Lincoln Red Imps replaced the seeded team Flora Tallinn (3.350), and Alashkert FC replaced the seeded team FC Santa Coloma (2.699). The reason for this is that the draw for the 2nd qualifying round is made before the results of the 1st qualifying round are known.
| 2nd Qualifying Round (34 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- FC Salzburg Aut 42.520 The New Saints * Wal 5.200 Celtic Sco 40.460 F91 Dudelange Lux 5.050 APOEL Nicosia Cyp 35.935 Zalgiris Vilnius Lit 4.925 BATE Borisov Bls 34.000 Hapoel Beer-Sheva Isr 4.725 Legia Warsaw Pol 28.000 Olimpija Ljubljana Slo 4.625 Dinamo Zagreb Cro 25.775 Valletta FC * Mlt 4.466 Ludogorets Razgrad Bul 25.625 Vardar Skopje Mac 4.200 FC København Den 24.720 IFK Norrköping Swe 3.975 Garabag Agdam Azb 13.475 Ferencváros Hun 3.475 Rosenborg BK Nor 12.850 Crusaders Belfast Nir 3.400 FK Astana Kaz 12.575 Lincoln Red Imps * Gib (3.350) Sheriff Tiraspol Mol 10.575 Zrinjski Mostar Bos 3.175 Partizani Tirana Alb (7.825) Alashkert FC * Arm (2.699) Red Star Belgrade Srb 7.175 Dundalk Irl 2.590 Dinamo Tbilisi Geo 5.875 Mladost Podgorica Mon 2.475 FH Hafnarfjardar Isl 5.750 SJK Seinäjoki Fin 1.730 AS Trencín Svk 5.400 FK Liepaja Lat 1.075 |
For the draw of the 2nd round the 34 teams are divided into 1 group of 10 teams
and 2 groups of 12 teams. The draw groups were as follows:
Group 1
seeded: FC Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Garabag Agdam, Sheriff Tiraspol, AS Trencín
unseeded: F91 Dudelange, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Olimpija Ljubljana, Vardar Skopje, FK Liepaja
Group 2
seeded: APOEL Nicosia, Legia Warsaw, Ludogorets Razgrad, FK Astana, Skënderbeu Korçë, Dinamo Tbilisi
unseeded: (The New Saints), Zalgiris Vilnius, Ferencváros, Zrinjski Mostar, (FC Santa Coloma), Mladost Podgorica
Group 3
seeded: Celtic, BATE Borisov, FC København, Rosenborg BK, Red Star Belgrade, FH Hafnarfjardar
unseeded: (Valletta FC), IFK Norrköping, Crusaders Belfast, (Flora Tallinn), Dundalk, SJK Seinäjoki
After the draw for CL-Q2 it was decided that Partizani Tirana will replace the banned team Skënderbeu Korçë.
Unseeded teams in the 2nd qualifying round that qualify for the next round take effectively the coefficient of their opponent in the next round: Hapoel Beer-Sheva replaced the seeded team Sheriff Tiraspol (10.575), Dundalk replaced the seeded team FH Hafnarfjardar (5.750), and Partizani Tirana replaced Ferencváros (3.475). The reason for this is that the draw for the 3rd qualifying round is made before the results of the 2nd qualifying round are known.
| 3rd Qualifying Round for Champions (20 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- Olympiakos Piraeus Gre 70.940 Garabag Agdam ** Azb 13.475 Viktoria Plzen Cze 44.585 Rosenborg BK ** Nor 12.850 FC Salzburg ** Aut 42.520 FK Astana ** Kaz 12.575 Celtic ** Sco 40.460 Astra Giurgiu Rom 11.076 APOEL Nicosia ** Cyp 35.935 Hapoel Beer-Sheva ** Isr (10.575) BATE Borisov ** Bls 34.000 Red Star Belgrade ** Srb 7.175 Legia Warsaw ** Pol 28.000 Dinamo Tbilisi ** Geo 5.875 Dinamo Zagreb ** Cro 25.775 Dundalk ** Irl (5.750) Ludogorets Razgrad ** Bul 25.625 AS Trencín ** Svk 5.400 FC København ** Den 24.720 Partizani Tirana ** Alb (3.475) |
For the draw of the 3rd round the 20 teams are divided into 2 groups of 10 teams.
The draw groups were as follows:
Group 1
seeded: Olympiakos Piraeus, (Celtic), (APOEL Nicosia), (Legia Warsaw), (Dinamo Zagreb)
unseeded: (Rosenborg BK), (FK Astana), (Sheriff Tiraspol), (Dinamo Tbilisi), (AS Trencín)
Group 2
seeded: Viktoria Plzen, (FC Salzburg), (BATE Borisov), (Ludogorets Razgrad), (FC København)
unseeded: (Garabag Agdam), Astra Giurgiu, (Red Star Belgrade), (FH Hafnarfjardar), (Ferencváros)
| 3rd Qualifying Round for Non-Champions (10 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- Shakhtar Donetsk Ukr 81.976 PAOK Thessaloniki Gre 37.440 Ajax Ned 58.112 Steaua Bucuresti Rom 36.576 Anderlecht Bel 54.000 AS Monaco Fra 36.549 Fenerbahçe Tur 40.920 Young Boys Sui 24.755 Sparta Praha Cze 40.585 FK Rostov Rus 11.716 |
| 4th Qualifying Round for Champions (10 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- Viktoria Plzen *3 Cze 44.585 Dinamo Zagreb ** Cro 25.775 FC Salzburg ** Aut 42.520 Ludogorets Razgrad ** Bul 25.625 Celtic ** Sco 40.460 FC København ** Den 24.720 APOEL Nicosia ** Cyp 35.935 Hapoel Beer-Sheva ** Isr 4.725 Legia Warsaw ** Pol 28.000 Dundalk ** Irl 2.590 |
| 4th Qualifying Round for Non-Champions (10 teams) |
|---|
Seeded teams coef. Unseeded teams coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- Manchester City Eng 99.256 AS Roma Ita 41.587 FC Porto Por 92.616 Steaua Bucuresti *3 Rom 36.576 Villarreal Esp 60.142 AS Monaco *3 Fra 36.549 Ajax *3 Ned 58.112 Young Boys *3 Sui 24.755 Borussia Mönchengladbach Ger 42.035 FK Rostov *3 Rus 11.716 |
Once the 4th qualifying round (or play-off round) has been completed, the 32 remaining clubs are drawn into eight groups of four. Clubs from the same association will not be drawn into the same group. A computer draw determines the final position of the teams within their group. These positions determine the order of the home and away matches. The following match sequence applies:
1st match day: 2 v 3 4th match day: 1 v 3
4 v 1 4 v 2
2nd match day: 1 v 2 5th match day: 3 v 2
3 v 4 1 v 4
3rd match day: 3 v 1 6th match day: 2 v 1
2 v 4 4 v 3
See 2006 draw procedure announced and
2008 group-stage draw
for more details of the group stage draw.
From this season on, the title-holder and the champions of the 7 top-ranked
associations are placed in pot 1. If the title-holder is also the champion from
one of the 7 top-ranked associations, the champion of the association ranked 8
is also put in pot 1. The other pots are filled according to the club ranking.
| Group Stage (32 teams) |
|---|
Pot 1 coef. Pot 2 coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- Real Madrid (CL-TH) Esp 176.142 Atlético Madrid Esp 144.142 FC Barcelona Esp 159.142 Borussia Dortmund Ger 110.035 Leicester City Eng 15.256 Arsenal Eng 105.256 Bayern München Ger 163.035 Manchester City *4 Eng 99.256 Juventus Ita 107.087 Sevilla (EL-TH) Esp 95.642 Benfica Por 116.616 FC Porto *4 Por 92.616 Paris Saint-Germain Fra 112.549 Napoli Ita 90.087 CSKA Moscow Rus 48.716 Bayer Leverkusen Ger 89.035 Pot 3 coef. Pot 4 coef. ------------------------ --- ---------------- ------------------------ --- ---------------- FC Basel Sui 87.755 Celtic ** Sco 40.460 Tottenham Hotspur Eng 74.256 AS Monaco *3 Fra 36.549 Dinamo Kiev Ukr 65.976 Besiktas Tur 34.920 Olympique Lyon Fra 63.049 Legia Warsaw ** Pol 28.000 PSV Eindhoven Ned 57.112 Dinamo Zagreb ** Cro 25.775 Sporting CP Lisbon Por 51.616 Ludogorets Razgrad ** Bul 25.625 Club Brugge Bel 43.000 FC København ** Den 24.720 Borussia Mönchengladb.*4 Ger 42.035 FK Rostov *3 Rus 11.716 |
The eight group-winners and eight runners-up of the group stage qualify for the second round. The clubs that finish this stage in third position in their group move into the third round of the current Europa League. The clubs that finish this stage in fourth position in their group are eliminated.
The draw for the 2nd round takes the following rules into account:
a) Clubs from the same association must not be drawn against each other,
b) The winners and runners-up of the same group must not be drawn against each other,
c) The group winners must not be drawn against each other,
d) The runners up must not be drawn against each other,
e) The runners up must play the first leg at home.
The group winners are seeded above the runners-up.
See 2008 CL 2nd round draw procedure for more details.
| Round 2 (16 teams) |
|---|
1st in CL group 2nd in CL group ------------------------ --- ------------------------ --- Arsenal Eng Paris Saint-Germain Fra Napoli Ita Benfica Por FC Barcelona Esp Manchester City *4 Eng Atlético Madrid Esp Bayern München Ger AS Monaco *3 Fra Bayer Leverkusen Ger Borussia Dortmund Ger Real Madrid Esp Leicester City Eng FC Porto *4 Por Juventus Ita Sevilla (EL-TH) Esp |
For the draw of the quarter-finals and semi-finals no clubs will be seeded.
KEY:
| * | = | team started in 1st qualifying round |
| ** | = | team started in 2nd qualifying round |
| *3 | = | team started in 3rd qualifying round |
| *4 | = | team started in 4th qualifying round |