With the qualifying stage complete, the Champions League truly begins with Thursday’s group stage draw, which takes place at 5pm BST in Monaco. For the first time, five English sides have reached this stage, with Liverpool beating Hoffenheim in the play-offs to join Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and last season’s Europa League winners, Manchester United. Celtic have also qualified via the play-offs, with the Scottish champions completing a half-dozen of British teams in the hat. We take a look at who each British side could face:
Chelsea
As the defending English champions, Antonio Conte’s side enjoy the benefit of being seeded in pot one, but it may not be much of an advantage at all. Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and PSG would all pose a real threat, and the other European sides in pot two – Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Porto – are all formidable opponents. With games against Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool coming the weekend after Champions League matches, Conte will be desperate to avoid the stronger teams lower down – Roma and Napoli in pot three, or RB Leipzig in pot four – in order to rotate his squad.
Possible opponents:
Pot two: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Porto
Pot three: Napoli, Basel, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Roma, Besiktas
Pot four: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting, APOEL, Feyenoord, Maribor, Qarabag, RB Leipzig
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s team are in pot two and could face any of seven possible seeded opponents, including Real Madrid or a reunion with Bayern Munich. City face away matches in four of the six weekends after European action, so may want to avoid travelling to Spartak Moscow or Shakhtar Donetsk, who will play home games in Kharkiv. That also applies further down the draw, where Olympiakos, Besiktas, CSKA Moscow and Azerbaijan’s Qarabag lie in wait.
Possible opponents:
Seeds: Real Madrid, Bayern, Juventus, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot three: Napoli, Basel, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Roma, Besiktas
Pot four: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting, APOEL, Feyenoord, Maribor, Qarabag, RB Leipzig
Manchester United
United’s Europa League victory earned automatic qualification to the group stage and boosted their coefficient enough to lift José Mourinho’s team into pot two. That means they avoid the potential difficulties faced by Tottenham and Liverpool but could still face elite sides – including Paul Pogba’s former club Juventus – from among the seeds and pot three. With four home league games following their European matches, Mourinho will hope for a kind draw to focus his efforts on winning the group.
Possible opponents:
Seeds: Real Madrid, Bayern, Juventus, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot three: Napoli, Basel, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Roma, Besiktas
Pot four: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting, APOEL, Feyenoord, Maribor, Qarabag, RB Leipzig
Tottenham
Spurs have four league fixtures at Wembley after Champions League matches, and a decent draw could allow them to finally settle into their temporary home. Unfortunately their position in pot three means a group of death is a distinct possibility. In their worst-case scenario, Mauricio Pochettino’s team could draw Real Madrid and PSG, while Monaco, who began the run of poor results at Wembley, are another potential opponent.
Possible opponents:
Seeds: Real Madrid, Bayern, Juventus, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot two: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Porto
Pot four: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting, APOEL, Feyenoord, Maribor, Qarabag, RB Leipzig
Liverpool
Jürgen Klopp’s side are back in the group stage for the first time since 2014-15 after beating Hoffenheim in the play-offs but, like Tottenham, need a favour from the draw before they can plan any further ahead. Even if a nightmare draw is avoided, there are plenty of ghosts Klopp may want to avoid. The former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has led Celtic into pot four, while pot two features Klopp’s former club Dortmund and Sevilla, who denied them a Champions League place last season.
Possible opponents:
Seeds: Real Madrid, Bayern, Juventus, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot two: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Porto
Pot four: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting, APOEL, Feyenoord, Maribor, Qarabag, RB Leipzig
Celtic
As the only British side in pot four, Celtic face an uphill task to reach the knockout stage but know a midweek trip to Glasgow will not be high on any side’s wishlist. Celtic can face only one English side but with at least one in every pot, there is a reasonable chance of another battle of Britain. Brendan Rodgers’ side held their own in last season’s group of death but the quirks of the draw mean a navigable group – Spartak, Porto and Anderlecht, for instance – is not out of the question.
Possible opponents:
Seeds: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot two: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Manchester City, Porto, Manchester United
Pot three: Napoli, Tottenham, Basel, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Liverpool, Roma, Besiktas
Full Champions League draw pots
Seeded: Real Madrid (champions), Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Spartak Moscow
Pot two: Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Manchester City, Porto, Manchester United
Pot three: Napoli, Tottenham, Basel, Olympiakos, Anderlecht, Liverpool, Roma, Besiktas
Pot four: Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Sporting Lisbon, APOEL Nicosia, Feyenoord, Maribor, Qarabag, RB Leipzig
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