Everything NUFC fans need to know ahead of the 2023/24 Champions League group stage draw

Newcastle United are set to discover their 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage opponents this evening, with the draw set to take place in Monaco at 5 p.m. BST.

The ceremony will be shown live on TNT Sports and for free on UEFA.com, with proceedings expected to last around one hour and 20 minutes in total.

If last season's draw is anything to go by, balls won't start coming out of pots until around 25 minutes into the broadcast. The draw itself will then last around 35 minutes.

Newcastle are one of 32 teams separated into four pots of eight, alongside European heavyweights such as A.C. Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Internazionale, Juventus, PSG, and Real Madrid.

Eddie Howe's side are in Pot 4, meaning they will be drawn near the end of the broadcast into a group containing one team from each of the other three pots.

The Magpies cannot be drawn alongside another Premier League team and there are other permutations at play, too, which will be explained by the hosts during the ceremony.

The order and dates of group stage fixtures are not announced tonight but are typically shared by UEFA within 48 hours.

Who are in the Champions League group stage pots?

Here's the full list of teams involved in tonight's draw, separated by pot and ordered by coefficient score:

Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord

Pot 2: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atlético Madrid, RB Leipzig, FC Porto, Arsenal

Pot 3: Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Salzburg, AC Milan, SC Braga, PSV Eindhoven, Lazio, Crvena Zvezda, F.C Copenhagen

Pot 4: Young Boys, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, Celtic, NEWCASTLE UNITED, FC Union Berlin, Royal Antwerp, RC Lens

Only the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Round of 16, while teams that finish third will drop into the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs.

Teams that finish fourth are eliminated from European competition altogether.

What are the Champions League group stage dates?

Our six group games will take place on either Tuesday or Wednesday evenings between mid-September and mid-December. Three will be played at St. James' Park and three will be played away from home, with each opponent being played twice:

Matchday 1: 19th/20th of September 2023

Matchday 2: 3rd/4th of October 2023

Matchday 3: 24th/25th of October 2023

Matchday 4: 7th/8th of November 2023

Matchday 5: 28th/29th of November 2023

Matchday 6: 12th/13th of December 2023

When do the Champions League knockout stages take place?

Feeling confident, are we?!

If the Magpies make it through the group then here's what awaits:

Round of 16: 13th/14th/20th/21st of February 2024 and 5th/6th/12th/13th of March 2024

Quarter-finals: 9th/10th and 16th/17th of April 2024

Semi-finals: 30th April/1st May 2024 and 7th/8th of May 2024

Final: 1st of June 2024

Remember that ties are two legs (one home and one away) on Tuesdays or Wednesdays until the final, which is a one-off game at Wembley on a Saturday evening with extra time and penalties if required.

That's it, you're all set. Now all that's left to do is wait.

Why not run your own simulation of the draw to pass the time? It's a great way to learn the different permutations and to play with the possibilities.

On our latest run through we ended up with Napoli, Real Madrid, and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group G, though we could've landed in Group E with Sevilla, Dortmund, and PSV or Group F with PSG, Leipzig, and Salzburg.

We'd take any of those three in the real thing later tonight, we're just praying for at least one giant. We'd really love some opposition we've never played before competitively, too. PSG, Real Madrid, and Milan, anyone?