Just a month after the 2019-20 Champions League, the longest in history, ended, a new edition of the continental tournament begins.
This Thursday, at 5:00 p.m. (Movistar +), the draw for the group stage will be held that will mark the way to the grand final in Istanbul on May 29.
Real Madrid, champions of the League, and Sevilla, of the UEFA Europa League, start in pot one along with the other winners of the major European associations.
For their part, Barcelona and Atlético do it from pot two.
The great rival to avoid for those of Zidane and Lopetegui is Guardiola's Manchester City, which eliminated the whites last season, winning both at the Bernabéu and the Etihad.
It is more complicated for Barcelona and Atlético.
With the exception of Porto and Zenit, the rest of the components of Pot 1 are giants, especially Bayern Munich, champion of the last edition and recently, of the European Super Cup.
Juventus, Liverpool and PSG will also be tough opponents if they fall into the same group.
Pot 3 also hides several teams that can make life difficult for the Spanish.
Red Bull Leipzig proved last season that they are not wrinkled against the big rivals and reached the semi-finals after eliminating Atlético.
Inter Milan, despite not having passed the group stage for eight years, is also trading higher.
Lazio and Atalanta are two other teams that, despite their little European experience, have shown a great game and the ability to fight any team.
Borussia Monchengladbach and Stade Rennes de Camavinga are the two most problematic teams a priori in pot 4.
The event, which was to take place in Athens, will finally take place in Nyon, the UEFA headquarters, behind closed doors and without club representatives.
The UEFA awards for best player, coach, and for position will also be awarded.
Robert Lewandowski, champion with Bayern and the top scorer in the Champions League with 15 goals, has Kevin de Bruyne as his great opponent for the MVP title.
It is the first in 10 years that neither Cristiano nor Messi have chosen the award.
Oblak, who opts for the best goalkeeper, although with few options since he competes with Neuer, also nominated for best player, is the only representative of the Spanish League.
And Thiago Alcántara, the only Spaniard who can win an award.
On Friday, the draw for the UEFA Europa League will be held in which Villarreal and Real Sociedad will be, waiting for Granada to seal their qualification against Malmo this Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
The European season will be marked by sanitary measures and the need to condense the calendar into a Eurocup year.
Once the groups are set up, the 2020/21 Champions League will begin on October 20.
On December 9, all the matches of the first phase will have ended and the draw will be held for the knockout rounds to begin on February 16.
After this, the crosses will be stipulated until reaching the final on May 29 at the Atatürk stadium, in Istanbul, the venue that was scheduled for last season, if the coronavirus pandemic had not broken out.