All set for the Champions League draw
The Grimaldi Forum, Monaco is the venue for today's Champions League group stage draw, with FC Barcelona among the eight top seeds as the 32 qualifiers learn which teams they'll be have to beat in order to advance to the all-important knockout stage. It all starts at 6pm CEST.
Last under current system
This is the last time the competition is following the now familiar format of eight groups of four teams followed by a round of 16. From next season, UEFA will be switching to a system featuring four additional teams and a total of eight group games using the 'Swiss' system of two groups.
But that's next year. In 2023/24 things are the same as ever, and Barça have the advantage that as the defending Liga champions, they will be one of the top seeds. At least in theory, that means a slightly less punishing route than the ones that in the last two editions meant they failed to progress into the knockout rounds.
The Catalans cannot be drawn against any of the winners of Europe's highest ranking leagues, Manchester City (who are also the defending UCL champions) Bayern Munich, PSG, Benfica, Napoli and Feyenoord, nor can they play Europa League winners Sevilla (who they couldn't meet anyway due to the rule separating teams from the same national federation).
Pot Two
Hence, at least on paper, the most dangerous opponent that Barça can face will be drawn from Pot Two, although they cannot play either of the two second-seeded Liga teams, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.
But they could cross paths with the side that knocked them out last season and which went all the way to the final, Inter Milan. There's also the team they lost to in the Europa league, Manchester United, while Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Oporto and Arsenal are all clubs with strong European pedigree too.
Pot Two
There are some tricky teams among the third-seeded teams as well. Barça could meet any of these (with the only condition that two sides from the same domestic league cannot play in the same group).
These potential opponents are Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, Red Star Belgrade, Braga, PSV Eindhoven and Copenhagen.
Among these, there is one side that Barça has never played in an official fixture before, Salzburg, and one that they have never even met in a friendly, Braga of Portugal.
Pot Three
In the lowest seeded pot, Barça cannot play fellow Liga side Real Sociedad, but could be drawn against any of the other six contestants, who are Galatasaray, Glasgow Celtic, Lens, Newcastle United, Union Berlin, Young Boys Bern and Royal Antwerp.
Galatasaray and Celtic are familiar rivals for Barça, and the blaugrana have clashed with Newcastle a few times over the years too. But it's a long time since the last meeting with Antwerp, and although the Catalans have played Young Boys in friendlies, all of those games were played 70 or more years ago. And in this last pot there are two more teams that Barça have never played before in any kind of fixture: Lens and Union Berlin.