Manchester City face the daunting prospect of a tie with Real Madrid if they want to advance to the second round of 2022/23 Champions League qualifying.
City have been drawn against FC Tomiris Turan of Kazakhstan in their first Group 4 match, and if they come through that – and Real Madrid win their ‘semi-final’ against Sturm Graz – the two European behemoths will face off in qualifying for the second season in a row.
Last year, Los Blancos saw off the Citizens in round two to reach the Champions League proper.
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The competition has been revamped for the upcoming season, with the first-round ties to be played over one leg and in one location within each group, which will be from one of the teams in the group.
City and Real Madrid are within the ‘League Path’ section of the draw, from which four teams will emerge into the round two hat.
Also in that section are Glasgow City who must beat Roma and then one of Paris or Servette in the Group 1 final.
There will be 11 teams progressing from the ‘Champions Path’ section. In that part of the draw, Group 2 sees a possible British final between Swansea City and Rangers.
The semi-finals of the group matches will be played on August 18, with the finals on August 21.
There are two qualifying rounds this season before the 16-team group stage of the competition kicks off. The second qualifying round will feature 24 teams, with 12 teams making it through to join the four already-qualified sides, which are Chelsea, Barcelona, Wolfsburg and holders Lyon.
This season’s group stage draw is set for October 3, with the action beginning on October 19/20.
This year’s final will be held at the PSV Stadion in Eindhoven on either June 3 or 4.
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