Title holders Real Madrid and the rest of Europe’s elite clubs will be able to start plotting their route to Champions League glory when the draw for this season’s group stage is made in Istanbul on Thursday from 18.00.

All going to plan, the journey will end back in the Turkish city on June 10 next year for the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, the same venue where Liverpool defeated AC Milan on penalties in 2005.

Istanbul was supposed to host the final in 2020 and again in 2021, but on each occasion UEFA moved the game to Portugal due to pandemic-related restrictions.

Another late change was required last season, with Saint-Petersburg being stripped of the final after Russia invaded Ukraine, and Paris instead stepping in to host Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool.

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