MONACO (AP) — European soccer's heavyweights and unheralded newcomers will find out their Champions League opponents when the draw for the opening league phase is made on Thursday in Monaco.
All will gather at a beach-side concert hall for the draw ceremony starting at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).
They include titleholder Paris Saint-Germain and newcomer Pafos of Cyprus. The record 15-time champion Real Madrid and first-timer Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan. English champion Liverpool and Norway's Bodo/Glimt from inside the Arctic Circle.
Games in January in Almaty and Bodo shape to be among the coldest in competition history and the longest-ever trips for visiting teams.
Former champions who failed to qualify for this edition include AC Milan and Manchester United.
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