UEFA Champions League: Who can English clubs draw in the league phase?

For the first time in its history, the UEFA Champions League will move to a Swiss system for the league phase, replacing the old group stage.

Previously, 32 teams would be drawn in eight groups of four, playing the other three teams in each group home and away, with teams split into four pots to ensure the best teams would mostly avoid each.

All that will change this term, however, with all 36 teams (increased from 32), facing two teams from all four pots, theoretically granting every club a draw of similar difficulty.

There are still some permutations to watch out for, though. For example, teams can only draw two teams from each association, and can't draw any team from their own association. So if a club drew Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, they couldn't also draw VfB Stuttgart.

With that in mind, we look at the best and worst possible draws for the English clubs.

The obvious team to avoid for the English clubs in Pot 1 would be Real Madrid. Last season's winners, likely to have the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner in Vinicius Jr and bolstered by a certain Kylian Mbappe. Home or away, Real Madrid are ones to avoid.

From there, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will all pose a threat, certainly in front of their home fans if that's how the draw pans out.

In Pot 2 we see German champions Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid. While Diego Simeone's men aren't as formidable as they once were - failing to get beyond the quarter-finals in any of their last seven UEFA Champions League campaigns - they're more than capable of producing results, memorably knocking Liverpool out at Anfield in 2020.

Beyond that, there isn't too much to fear, though Liverpool fans will well remember their humbling at home to Atalanta in last season's Europa League quarter-final.

None of the bigger hitters should fear anyone in Pot 3, though PSV Eindhoven romped to the Eredivisie title last season under Peter Bosz and are fancied to do similar this time around The Dutch side got out of a UEFA Champions League group containing Arsenal, Sevilla and Lens thanks to a draw with the Gunners and a win in Spain before being knocked out by eventual runners-up Borussia Dortmund.

After that, Portuguese champions Sporting CP and Feyenoord likely pose the biggest threats.

In Pot 4 we see UEFA Champions League debutants Girona, who looked like launching an unlikely title challenge early on last season before eventually running out of steam. Despite losing Savio, Aleix Garcia and Artem Dovbyk, the side will expect to push for another top-four finish, and will pick up some points in the league phase. After the Spanish side, VfB Stuttgart look to be one to avoid, having finished above Bayern in last season's Bundesliga.

Worst-case scenario: Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Girona, Monaco.

So that's the worst-case scenario; what about the best-case scenario?

In Pot 1, copping any two of Inter, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig means you've avoided the big hitters, while in Pot 2, Shakhtar Donetsk and Club Brugge appear the weakest of the bunch.

In Pot 3, any of Celtic, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade would be warmly received, and in Pot 4, any of Sturm Graz, Brest, Sparta Prague and Slovan Bratislava should produce six points.

Best case scenario: Inter, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Club Brugge, Young Boys, Celtic, Sturm Graz, Slovan Bratislava.

You can see all the latest UEFA Champions League odds on our dedicated UEFA Champions League hub.

Liam Williams

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