Champions League Draw 2017: Schedule, Live Stream, More for Group Announcement

The draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage will take place on Thursday, as the 32 teams involved wait to hear who they will face in this year's competition.

As usual, the clubs will be split into four seeded pots of eight with each group comprised of one from each, and no sides from the same association will be able to face one another.

Here are the viewing details for the draw, which will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco:

Date: Thursday, August 24

Time: 6 p.m. BST/1 p.m. ET

TV: BT Sport 2, FS1 (USA), FS2 (USA)

Live Stream: UEFA.com, BT Sport Player (UK), Fox Sports Go (USA)

Real Madrid Pursue 4th Title in 5 Years

Real Madrid have dominated the competition in recent years, winning three of the last four editions and becoming the first team to defend the trophy in the Champions League era.

As such, it's of little surprise they top UEFA's coefficient rankings:

They will be hoping to become the first team in more than 30 years to win the trophy for three seasons running, and manager Zinedine Zidane will have his eyes set on competing at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, in the final on May 26.

Los Blancos' incredible attacking power has played a significant role in their recent success, and they are on a remarkable goalscoring run, per the Champions League's official Twitter account:

With the team virtually starting every game with a goal advantage, they will be the side to avoid in the draw.

Manchester United Seeded in Pot 2

Thanks to their exploits in the UEFA Europa League last term, Manchester United have been able to secure themselves a place in Pot 2 despite appearing just once in the Champions League since 2014.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

Consequently, they will avoid fellow Pot 2 sides such as Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and FC Porto, which will be a significant boost to their chances.

If they can avoid drawing Real, Bayern Munich and Juventus, they may even have realistic ambitions of winning their group.

The Red Devils have started the Premier League season in promising fashion with back-to-back 4-0 wins. Football writer Liam Canning and ESPN's Alex Shaw noted their improvement in the final third:

Provided they can sustain their good form, they could become a force to be reckoned with in Europe once again.

It's unlikely they will be in contention to win the Champions League this year, but a place in the knockout stages should be achievable, especially if they receive a favourable draw.