Real Madrid Champions League group draw 2022/23: Potential teams, fixtures, schedule, history and odds to advance

Defending champions Real Madrid will hope their path to a second consecutive title is an easy one, as they embark on this season’s UEFA Champions League journey in search of their 15th European club title.

As the most successful club in European football by a wide margin, Los Blancos are Champions League royalty. Their 14 titles are double the haul of any other club, with AC Milan in second with seven.

Real Madrid have also never been eliminated in the group stage, holding a perfect 26-of-26 record since the group stage’s introduction in 1995.

With last year’s competition top scorer Karim Benzema leading the way, Real Madrid look a strong prospect to add yet another European cup to their bulging silverware cabinet.

MORE: Away goals no longer used to break ties, scrapped last year across all UEFA competitions

Real Madrid’s Champions League group in 2022/23

Real Madrid qualified for the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League as the defending champions of the competition.

As they also won La Liga but cannot qualify for the same competition twice, Dutch champions Ajax were elevated to Pot 1 to fill the vacancy.

The 32 teams that qualified for the group stage are split into four pots of eight teams each. A club will be selected from each of those pots to make up each of Groups A-H.

Pot 1 is reserved for the defending Champions League (Real Madrid) and Europa League winners (Eintracht Frankfurt), along with the domestic league champions of the top six countries in the UEFA country coefficient list.

Teams in Pots 2-4 are ranked according to their UEFA club coefficient ranking.

MORE: Group stage draw time, date and procedures

Teams from the same nation cannot be drawn together in the same group, as UEFA looks to vary the groups and pit teams together that don’t often match up. Therefore, Real Madrid cannot be pulled out against any of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, or Barcelona, who all reside in Pot 2.

That means Real Madrid’s Pot 2 possible opponents are narrowed significantly, with the Spanish giants only able to face Liverpool, Chelsea, Juventus, RB Leipzig or Tottenham.

In addition, UEFA pairs together certain clubs from the same nation to ensure they don’t play at the same time during the group stage (to optimize TV viewership audience). As such, when any of the teams below are drawn into groups A-D, their paired team will automatically be assigned to one of groups E-H, and vice-versa: 

• Real Madrid and Barcelona 
• Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig 
• Manchester City and Liverpool
• AC Milan and Napoli 
• Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund 
• Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille 
• FC Porto and Benfica 
• Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur 
• Juventus and Inter Milan 
• Atletico Madrid and Sevilla 

Potential group stage draw for Real Madrid

Here’s how Real Madrid’s group stage draw could play out. A reminder that they cannot be drawn against another Spanish club per the draw rules, and in addition, if Barcelona are drawn in groups A-D, Real must occupy a spot in groups E-H, so as to avoid having both clubs playing group matches at the same time.

Pot 2

This pot boasts a number of intimidating clubs with Liverpool and Chelsea looming as the most daunting. Real would much prefer drawing the likes of RB Leipzig or Tottenham. They could not draw Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, or Sevilla in the group stage, as per UEFA rules.

Pot 3

Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan are the sides Real will be hoping to avoid from this pot. A kinder draw would see them pitted against Sporting or Shakhtar Donetsk. 

Pot 4

Despite their lowly UEFA club coefficient ranking, Club Brugge and Celtic could still pose problems from this pot. 

Best possible draw:

• Pot 1: Real Madrid
• Pot 2: RB Leipzig
• Pot 3: Sporting CP
• Pot 4: Maccabi Haifa 

Worst possible draw: 

• Pot 1: Real Madrid
• Pot 2: Liverpool
• Pot 3: Borussia Dortmund
• Pot 4: Celtic

MORE: Why does Karim Benzema wear a bandage wrapped around his hand?

Real Madrid Champions League fixtures

Once Los Blancos find out their three group-stage opponents, European governing body UEFA will create a group schedule in which Real Madrid will face the other three clubs home and away on the following dates:

Should Real finish as one of the top two teams in their group at the conclusion of the six group-stage matches, they would advance to the knockout stages, beginning with the Round of 16.

Here’s the road to the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Real Madrid history in the Champions League

Real Madrid are the most successful side in the history of European club football, owning 14 European titles, double more than any other club.

Los Blancos won the first five European competitions through the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Their fortunes took a downturn in European football after that, but they experienced a revival in the late 1990’s and have been a dominant force in Europe ever since.

Over the last 10 seasons, Real Madrid have emerged victorious in half the Champions League competitions. They have exited the group stage in all 10, reaching at least the semi-finals in all but two tournaments (2018/19 and 2019/20).

Real Madrid have never been eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, since the tournament moved to its current format in 1995.

All of Real Madrid’s European titles

* Won via penalty shootout

Real Madrid’s last 10 Champions League appearances