The Champions League group stage draw is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the season as 32 teams go into the competition knowing one of them will be crowned winners. And with six British teams entering this year, the chances of having two in the same group are higher than usual.
No two teams in the same pot can be drawn into the same group and the same rules are in place for sides from the same country. But that does not apply to Premier League teams when being drawn against Celtic or Rangers, meaning one of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham can be drawn against them.
While predicting the draw is near impossible, Express Sport have run a simulation through the supercomputer and rendered a potential draw scenario, producing mixed results for the English clubs in the competition.
Champions League draw simulator
*Three qualifiers left with marked clubs leading or drawing play-off ties heading into second leg
GROUP A: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Benfica, FC Copenhagen*
A fairly tough group for Liverpool in that top spot will not be guaranteed by any means in facing Bayern Munich, although they have already taken the sting out of Benfica by signing their £80m striker Darwin Nunez as he returns to Portugal. Jurgen Klopp’s side should be safely through in this group but their poor league form may give them cause for concern.
GROUP B: Real Madrid, Tottenham, Napoli, Celtic
Leave it to Tottenham to be drawn possibly the most difficult group of all the English clubs on their return to the competition. Holders Real Madrid will be fiendishly difficult to face twice, while Napoli have gone through a transitional summer with squad improvements galore – and an all-British clash at Celtic Park will surely promise to be an electric encounter.
GROUP C: PSG, Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen, Viktoria Plzen
PSG and Lionel Messi will be favourites to top the group in this tasty match-up, with Sevilla and Bayer Leverkusen going toe-to-toe for the final spot. But don’t rule out the qualifiers Plzen pulling off a few shocks.
GROUP D: AC Milan, RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb*
Italian champions AC Milan will be hoping to fare better than last year after going out in the group stage, with an ambitious RB Leipzig side – who have re-signed Timo Werner – battling for first in the group. War-affected Shakhtar will be hoping to finish above Dinamo and secure themselves a Europa League spot.
GROUP E: FC Porto, Chelsea, Red Bull Salzburg, Maccabi Haifa
Thomas Tuchel could not have possibly wished for an easier group on paper. The German knows his side are capable of beating Porto, having done so on their way to the crown in 2021, and face a young Salzburg side that has been stripped of its best talent.
GROUP F: Manchester City, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge
Quite possibly this year’s group of death. Pep Guardiola’s side will be desperate to make amends for their semi-final exit last year, but getting past Juventus and Dortmund will be far from straightforward, although City will be favourites to climb to the summit.
GROUP G: Ajax, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Rangers*
After going through the qualifiers and seeing off PSV Eindhoven in the simulation world at least, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s reward is to face three European heavyweights. A fair prediction would suggest Barcelona and Inter will fight for the top two positions, leaving a much-changed Ajax and Rangers to scrap for the bottom two.
GROUP H: Eintracht Frankfurt, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Marseille
One of those groups that could easily form in the Europa League as well as the Champions League, such is the closeness of the two competitions now. But Diego Simeone’s Atletico have the experience and collective intelligence to finish on top – the battle for second will be enticing.
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