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17:51 - I'll be back soon with more LIVE coverage, but until then, speak to you later!

17:50 - Thanks for joining me, a mouth-watering draw has finished and I cannot wait for the Champions League group stages to begin!

17:47 - Before I go, here are my brief predictions as to who will progress from each group.

Group A: Atlético and Juventus. Group B: Real and Liverpool. Group C: Benfica and Monaco/Zenit. Group D: Arsenal and Dortmund. Group E: Bayern and City. Group F: Barca and PSG. Group G: Chelsea and Schalke. Group H: Porto and Bilbao.

17:45 - The draw has officially been concluded, here is the group stage draw in full.

17:42 - AS Roma of Italy, are the last team to be drawn and will play in Group E with Bayern, City and CSKA Moscow.

17:41 - BATE Borisov are next, and they have been picked out with a hard test - up against Bilbao, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk.

17:40 - Maribor are drawn, and they are in Group G with Chelsea, Sporting and Schalke.

17:39 - Belgian club RSC Anderlecht are the next team to be picked out of the bowls, and they are in Group D with Arsenal, Dortmund and Galatasaray.

17:38 - Swedish club Malmo are drawn, and play in Group A with Atlético, Juventus and Olympiakos.

17:37 - APOEL from Cyprus, have drawn a very tough group against Barcelona, Ajax and PSG in Group F.

17:35 - Group C await AS Monaco, who are up against Leverkusen, Benfica and Zenit.

17:34 - Pot 4 time. Last team in each group to be drawn now, and FC Ludogorets are the first in their first ever Champions League season.

17:30 - Arsenal and Dortmund are alongside Galatasaray in Group D, which signals the end of pot 3.

17:29 - Greek side Olympiakos are drawn next, and they are put into Group A with Atlético Madrid and Juventus. Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon are put into Group G with Chelsea and Schalke.

17:28 - Barcelona and PSG await in Group F for the next team to be drawn, which is Eredivisie champions Ajax.

17:26 - Russian club CSKA Moscow are drawn into Group E alongside Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

17:25 - Liverpool are drawn next, and they are put into Group B... with Real Madrid and Basel.

17:24 - Pot number 3 begins, and Spanish side Athletic Bilbao are the first team to be drawn after their win over Napoli yesterday. They are picked into Group H, alongside Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto.

17:22 - The last team to be drawn are another German team, with FC Schalke being put into the same group as Chelsea.

17:21 - Switzerland side FC Basel are picked out, and they have a tough test against Real Madrid... Juventus are drawn next up, and they are up against Atlético Madrid in Group A.

17:20 - German side Borussia Dortmund are picked out.... and they are in Group D with Arsenal again!

17:18 - City are the next team picked out, and based on the rules, Manchester City are therefore put into Group E with Bayern Munich.

17:17 - Shakthar Donetsk are drawn, and they will play in Group H alongside FC Porto.

17:16 - PSG are now picked out, and they are drawn into Group F with Barcelona. That is sure to be an exciting match...

17:14 - The next team to be drawn out are Russian club Zenit, who are currently managed by former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Andre Villas Boas. They are picked out, and will play in Group C alongside Benfica.

17:12 - Real goalkeeper Casillas is thanked for his somewhat brief contribution of unveiling the top pot teams being drawn, and another Real Madrid legend (and former defender) Fernando Hierro is presented as the draw continues.

17:11 - 2012 UCL champions Chelsea are drawn into Group G, which concludes the teams being drawn from the first pot.

17:10 - Portugese giants FC Porto are put into Group H, while last season's Liga BBVA champions Atlético Madrid are drawn into group A.

17:09 - Arsenal, who qualified yesterday night have been placed into Group D. Barcelona meanwhile, are in group F.

17:08 - Benfica are drawn next, and are in Group C.

17:07 - The next team, are the defending champions Real Madrid. They will be placed into Group B.

17:06 - The first team to be drawn in the Champions League, are Bayern Munich. They will be in Group E.

17:05 - And we begin! The first few teams that will be picked out are to see which group the first pots will be in.

17:00 - The UCL draw is only a few minutes away now, Casillas has just presented the Champions League trophy on a plaque or all of the media and club representatives to see in the crowd.

16:58 - They have all impressed in the Premier League over the past 12 months, especially Rose and Chambers who have established themselves as solid defensive cover in a new-look England team.

16:56 - Those players are; Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jack Colback (Newcastle) and Danny Rose (Tottenham).

16:55 - Roy Hodgson has called up four new un-capped players for the senior English side ahead of the team's friendlies against Norway and Switzerland next week.

16:50 - German midfielder Lewis Holtby has admitted that he would be open to leave Tottenham, if it means that he will see more first-team opportunities. He said: "I'm a young player and I want to be playing all the time. That's very important for me, for my development and for my career."

16:48 - According to reports, Real Madrid defensive midfielder Xabi Alonso is heavily linked with a potential move to Bayern Munich, and could leave the Bernabeu soon. The Bundesliga champions need a midfield replacement, after the serious long-term knee injury suffered by Javi Martinez during their 2-0 German Cup defeat to Dortmund.

16:47 - As we wait patiently for the start of the draw, here is some more transfer news.

16:45 - The UCL draw itself is set to start in under 20 minutes from now, brace yourselves.

16:30 - Last, but not least, here is pot 4. Anderlecht, Roma, APOEL, BATE Borisov, FC Ludogorets, Maribor, AS Monaco and Malmo.

16:27 - Looking at pot 3, many English supporters may be wondering as to why Liverpool are in pot 3, as opposed to the top two seeded pots after their impressive season in the Premier League, finishing in 2nd place and their highest position since 2008-09. This is because they have struggled in European competitions over the past few years and compared to other rivals, their UEFA coefficient is low.

16:25 - Here is pot 3. Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiakos, CSKA Moscow, Ajax, Liverpool, Lisbon, Galatasaray and Athletic Bilbao.

16:20 - More football news today, as Chelsea have confirmed that they will be monitoring the fitness of Spanish striker Diego Costa who is reported to have been struggling with an injury and could be out for up to 6 weeks with a hamstring problem.

16:15 - Here are the teams in pot 2. Schalke, Dortmund, Juventus, PSG, Shakhtar, Basel, Zenit and Manchester City.

16:05 - Pot one is strong as always, these teams that I have just listed will not be in the same group, and will play against teams in pot 2, 3 and 4 in a random group selection.

16:00 - Here are the teams that have qualified for the group stages in pot 1, and will NOT play against each other. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal and Porto.

15:50 - That's a decent signing of Palace, they needed some attacking flair and Zaha will give them that. Disappointing that he was unable to make his mark at United, but who knows what the future will hold for him.

15:45 - Breaking transfer news being released now, as Crystal Palace have confirmed the loan signing of Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha on a one-year deal.

15:30 - 1 hour to go until the draw, many of the teams will be eagerly looking their TV screens to see who they will play against in the Champions League for the upcoming season!

15:00 - It's not exactly surprising that Rooney has been appointed captain of England, after Louis van Gaal made him captain of Manchester United at the start of the season. 40 goals for his country, and has made 95 international caps already.

14:55 - That adds more pressure on Rooney and England, with the United player saying: "As a kid I always loved the occasion of looking a big England game on the television. Now to be appointed captain is beyond my wildest dreams."

14:50 - Latest news today includes Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, who has been named as the new England captain after Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard retired from international duty after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to focus on his club career.

14:45 - The groups will be separated into 8 groups of 4 respectively also.

14:40 - Each team will play every side in their group twice, the top two clubs in that group will progress to the knock-out rounds while the 3rd placed team will be sent into the Europa League Last 32 knock-outs.

14:35 - So here are the rules of today's draw; all sides in the same country are unable to play against each other in the group stage, for example Manchester City and Liverpool cannot be drawn in the same group.

14:25 - Bilbao, Leverkusen, Zenit, Porto and Maribor were among the other clubs who joined Arsenal and FC Ludogorets in the Champions League, thanks to the play-off route.

14:20 - Yesterday, there was late drama as Bulgarian champions FC Ludogorets qualified for the Champions League, for the first time in their history on-penalties against Steaua Bucharest thanks to two dramatic saves by defender Cosmin Moti as their goalkeeper was sent off in extra-time.

14:15 - The pots have been separated into 4 groups, with English side Liverpool being put into pot 3 as they aim to do well in their first season back in the Champions League since the 2009-10 campaign.

14:10 - The defending champions Real Madrid are among the top teams that have been seeded into pot 1, meaning that they will get an easier group than other competitors.

14:05 - Arsenal and Athletic Bilbao both sealed their fate among Europe's elite, as they beat Beskitas and Napoli respectively to earn a place in today's draw.

14:00 - Hello and welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of today's UEFA Champions League draw for the group stages, which is always an entertaining and interesting look for all the teams involved.

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About the author
Mosope Ominiyi
Writer and editor - European football analyst, youth enthusiast. Email: [email protected]