Tottenham’s dream and nightmare Champions League draw scenarios for group stage

Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League this season for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign as manager Antonio Conte dreams of winning a trophy that he has still not tasted glory in as a manager. Spurs are in pot 2 for Thursday’s group stage draw and should fancy their chances of at least making it to the knockout rounds.

However, they will be desperate to avoid facing any of the big boys at such an early stage, and will be hopeful that they do not end up in a group of death which could also lead to their Premier League form suffering.

Here, Express Sport takes a look at Spurs’ dream and nightmare scenarios from today’s draw in Istanbul…

DREAM DRAW: PORTO, TOTTENHAM, BAYER LEVERKUSEN, MACCABI HAIFA

Looking at pot 1, FC Porto are probably the weakest side in the hat. Sergio Conceicao’s side did win the Primeira Liga title last season, but have lost key players such as Vitinha to Paris Saint-Germain and Fabio Vieira to Arsenal, and are certainly not the force they once were.

In pot 3, Bayer Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga last year but have got off to a dreadful start this season, and are languishing down in 17th place after losing all three of their matches so far.

And in pot 4 the likes of Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa or Viktoria Plzen of Czechia shouldn’t be anything to fear, and may allow Conte to make full use of his squad’s new-found strength-in-depth.

NIGHTMARE DRAW: REAL MADRID, TOTTENHAM, BORUSSIA DORTMUND, CELTIC

The danger of Champions League holders Real Madrid goes without saying, while PSG and Bayern Munich are also potential opponents from pot 1 who Spurs would dearly love to avoid if possible. 

A trip to Dortmund, meanwhile, is never an easy fixture, and the German giants are arguably the toughest opponents possible from pot 3, along with Italian titans Inter Milan and Napoli.

Finally, travelling to Glasgow to face Celtic in front of their raucous fanbase would certainly be no walk in the park despite the advantage of having a match closer to home, and Spurs will be praying that their return to playing in Europe’s elite competition is not made any more difficult than it needs to be.