Once these matches – Dinamo Zagreb vs Bodo/Glimt, Trabzonspor vs Copenhagen, PSV vs Rangers – have been completed, the group stage draw will take place at 5pm. BST on Thursday 25 August. As always, the clubs will be divided into four pots of eight and one team from each pot will go into groups labeled A to Z. They cannot face two teams from the same country and no more than two teams from any nation playing the same night The draw for this year’s Champions League groups will take place on Thursday Pot 1 consists of the Champions League holders, the Europa League holders and the champions of the top six confederation countries based on their UEFA coefficients. Pots 2, 3 and 4 contain the remaining teams, ranked by UEFA ranking.
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Real Madrid Frankfurt Manchester City Milan Bayern Munich PSG Porto Ajax
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Liverpool Chelsea Barcelona Juventus Atletico Madrid Sevilla RB Leipzig Tottenham Hotspur
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Borussia Dortmund Red Bull Salzburg Shakhtar Donetsk Inter Milan Napoli Benfica Sporting Lisbon Bayer Leverkusen
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Marseille Club Brugge Celtic Maccabi Haifa Viktoria Plzen PSV or Rangers D Zagreb or Bodo/Glimt Trabzonspor or Copenhagen Sportsmail takes a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all the British sides involved…
City of Manchester
Best scenario: RB Leipzig, Sporting Lisbon, Maccabi Haifa Worst case scenario: Barcelona, Inter, Marseille As Premier League champions, Manchester City are in Pot 1 and therefore avoid many of Europe’s biggest teams such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG. But with the other three English teams all in Pot 2, it narrows down the options Pep Guardiola’s side could face – they will surely meet one of Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla or RB Leipzig. The Champions League trophy has so far eluded Pep Guardiola in his time at Manchester City Barcelona are certainly the most feared of these clubs after their summer spending spree, with Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde all arriving at Camp Nou. They also have a point to prove after being knocked out of the Champions League groups last season. In terms of the UEFA coefficient, RB Leipzig are the lowest-ranked team in the pot apart from Tottenham, so the German side – who finished third in City’s group last season – look to be the best team to take. In Pot 3, Inter Milan – who have Romelu Lukaku back in attack – are the ones to avoid, while Borussia Dortmund have been weakened by the departure of Erling Haaland but will still provide a stern test. Sporting Lisbon appear as the most favorable draw as last season saw them exit the group stage for the first time in 13 years. City will have their chances against any team in Pot 4, although Marseille is perhaps the most challenging opponent. They finished second in Ligue 1 last season, possess Arkadiusz Milik and Dimitri Payet in attack and have spent over £60m this summer. Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, appearing in the groups for the first time since 2009, would be the best option but also a long trip. City faced RB Leipzig last season and the German side may be the best bet from Pot 2
Liverpool
Best scenario: Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon, Maccabi Haifa
Worst case scenario: Real Madrid, Inter, Marseille
With Liverpool in Pot 2, we could have a repeat of last season’s Champions League final in the group stage if they are drawn with Real Madrid. The Reds haven’t managed to win any of their last seven games against Los Blancos, so they won’t be too keen to face them again.
Eintracht Frankfurt are in Pot 1 after winning the Europa League last season so shouldn’t be underestimated, but they finished 11th in the Bundesliga and look a little out of place among some of Europe’s heavyweights in their first season in this competition since in 1960. This makes it the best choice.
Liverpool will be keen to avoid a rematch with Real Madrid after last season’s final
Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt appear to be the easiest possible opponents in Pot 1
Jurgen Klopp’s former charges Dortmund are the ones to avoid in Pot 3, along with an Inter Milan side that won at Anfield last season. A meeting with Sporting would favor Liverpool, while Bayer Leverkusen are the lowest-ranked team but could not be drawn in the same group as Frankfurt.
In Pot 4, the Reds have won just once in six games against Celtic and a first meeting since 2003 would provide an electric atmosphere at both Anfield and Parkhead. That said, Ange Postecoglou’s men are perhaps a team to stay away from alongside Marseille, despite the short trip. Maccabi Haifa is the dream ticket again – or Viktoria Plzen.
Chelsea
Best scenario: Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon, Maccabi Haifa Worst case scenario: Real Madrid, Inter, Marseille Chelsea face the same options as Liverpool and will be just as desperate to avoid clashes with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or PSG. Again, Eintracht Frankfurt – who the Blues beat on penalties in the 2019 Europa League semi-final – look to be the easiest draw in Pot 1, but Thomas Tuchel’s side should also have their chances against Porto and Ajax. Romelu Lukaku could face parent club Chelsea if Blues draw Inter Unlike in the Premier League, loan players can play against their parent club in the Champions League, so Chelsea will certainly want to avoid Inter Milan in Pot 3 to rule out the risk of Romelu Lukaku scoring against them. A short trip to Lisbon or Leverkusen would suit the Blues just fine. The west London club won 4-0 home and away the last time they faced an Israeli side in the group stage – Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2015 – so will fancy their chances if they take on Maccabi Haifa in Pot 4. Instead, they have lost previous two trips to Marseille so it is a draw to avoid.
Tottenham
Best scenario: Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting Lisbon, Maccabi Haifa Worst case scenario: Real Madrid, Inter, Marseille Tottenham are the lowest-rated English team and the lowest-ranked team in Pot 2, so it may be the ‘best-case scenario’ for many foreign clubs, despite their encouraging start to the season. Spurs themselves will want Eintracht Frankfurt from Pot 1 but may also fancy a first meeting with Ajax after their dramatic Champions League semi-final against the Dutch side in 2019. They have won just once in six meetings against them Real Madrid and Bayern Munich so surprisingly will be keen to avoid these teams. Antonio Conte’s Spurs are the lowest ranked English team and the lowest rated team in Pot 2 Former Tottenham Hotspur prospect Marcus Edwards now plays for Sporting but is unlikely to cause Antonio Conte’s side too many problems if he drops out of Pot 3. A clash with Inter Milan would evoke memories of Gareth Bale’s hat-trick in San Siro in 2010, but Spurs lost that game and may struggle again against the Nerazzurri. A hat-trick that helped Spurs to victory was Harry Kane’s treble in a 7-2 thrashing of Maccabi Haifa in the 2020 Europa League qualifiers, so they were looking forward to facing the Israeli side again. A worst-case scenario meeting with Marseille from Pot 4 would see them face former Arsenal trio Matteo Gueduzi, Nuno Tavares and Alexis Sanchez. Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Spurs beat Maccabi Haifa 7-2 in the 2020 Europa League.
Celtic/Rangers
Best scenario: Ajax, Leipzig, Sporting Lisbon Worst case scenario: Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter There is Scottish representation in the groups for the first time since 2013, with champions Celtic guaranteed a place and Rangers needing to get past PSV in the play-off round tonight. They are both in Pot 4, so they face a potentially tough group. While Eintracht Frankfurt – who beat Rangers in last season’s Europa League final – are probably the easiest pick in Pot 1, we’ve used Ajax as the best case scenario so a meeting with RB Leipzig – who the Gers beat in the semi-finals – from Pot 2 is possible. Sporting Lisbon from Pot 3 would complete a group that would be the easiest to escape. There are all sorts of nightmare draws that the two Glasgow sides could face, but last season’s Champions League finalists Real Madrid and Liverpool, along with an Inter side who have finished first or second in Serie A for the past three years, is definitely the worst of the possibilities. Celtic are in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2013 but are in 4th place
