The 2018 Copa Libertadores group stage was played from 27 February to 24 May 2018.[1] A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the final stages of the 2018 Copa Libertadores.[2]
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 20 December 2017, 20:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[3][4]
Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores (shown in parentheses), taking into account of the following three factors:[5]
Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 2008–2017
Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores results in the period 1960–2007
Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years
For the group stage, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups (Groups A–H, also denoted as Groups 1–8) of four containing a team from each of the four pots. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group, excluding the winners of the third stage, which were allocated to Pot 4 and whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, and could be drawn into the same group with another team from the same association.[6]
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, the following criteria were used to determine the ranking: 1. Goal difference; 2. Goals scored; 3. Away goals scored; 4. CONMEBOL ranking (Regulations Article 28).[2]
^The Santa Fe v Emelec match was originally scheduled on 28 February 2018, 17:15 local time, but was re-scheduled to 1 March 2018, 17:15 local time to avoid a clash with the Millonarios v Corinthians Group G match.[13]