Fans could have to wait until Saturday for Champions League fixtures announcement
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Chelsea - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - August 8, 2020 General view of a matchball, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Michael Dalder
The draw for the Champions League group stage is about to take place in Istanbul but fans may have to wait until Saturday morning before the fixtures are announced.
Alongside the run of fixtures which have a head-to-head element in Matchday 3 and 4 the main issue is ensuring that television companies get the maximum number of fixtures from their country.
Now that UEFA are running three competitions with two kick-off slots on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays that task has got more difficult.
In England they have four Champions League teams to split over the Tuesday and Wednesday slots with the Thursday night fixtures in the Europa League and Europa Conference still to be decided.
The first Champions League fixtures will be played on September 6 and 7 with the final group matches on November 1 and 2 ahead of the World Cup break.
A quick response from UEFA! It’s possible they will be released tomorrow night but more likely all 3 competitions’ fixtures will be confirmed on the Saturday.
— Ryan McDonald (@rmcd93) August 25, 2022
Ryan McDonald is a reporter for Football Scotland.
Scotland is less of an issue with the two Glasgow clubs teamed up to ensure that their matches are arranged for separate days with the teams alternating with home fixtures.
Celtic fans can already buy tickets for the three group matches although the opponents, dates and kick-off times have still to be resolved.