The draw for the Champions League group stage takes place Thursday, with the scenarios coming into focus prior to the quartets being set.
With the major European domestic seasons now underway, the UEFA Champions League group stage is just around the corner with the highly anticipated group stage draw set for Thursday. But before the draw, six more teams are waiting to book their respective places in Europe's biggest competition with Tuesday and Wednesday's playoff second legs.
On Tuesday, the stage is set for some drama with all three home teams trailing by narrow margins with Ferencváros vs. Young Boys (2–3 aggregate), Ludogorets vs. Malmö (0–2 agg.), PSV Eindhoven vs. Benfica (1–2 agg.) all set to play. On Wednesday, Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Monaco (1–0), Brøndby vs. RB Salzburg (1–2 agg.) and Dinamo Zagreb vs. Sheriff Tiraspol (0–3 agg.) will close out the playoff and fill out the 32-team field.
On Thursday, the teams will be put into their four pots and drawn into eight groups of four. Pot One has already been set with the reigning Champions League winner (Chelsea) and Europa League champion (Villarreal) joining the six league winners from UEFA's highest-ranked nations (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal) according to the UEFA coefficient that measures club and league success.
Meanwhile, Pot Two has also been filled out by European giants who missed out on their respective league titles after surprising seasons in La Liga, Ligue 1 and, to an extent, Serie A. That means a loaded second tier, and the potential for some explosive group dynamics. After Pot One, qualified teams are put into the subsequent pots based on the order of UEFA's club coefficient ranking. Here are the draw pots so far:
Pot One: Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Atlético Madrid, Villarreal, Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Lille
Pot Two: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund
Pot Three: Porto, Ajax, RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Zenit Saint Petersburg
Pot Four: AC Milan, Club Brugge, Wolfsburg, Winner of Young Boys vs. Ferencváros, Winner of Ludogorets vs. Malmö
Pot Three or Four: Winner of Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Monaco; Winner of RB Salzburg vs. Brøndby; Winner of Benfica vs. PSV; Winner of Dinamo Zagreb vs. Sheriff Tiraspol
Already qualified but waiting on pot assignment: Beşiktaş, Dynamo Kiev
According to the Independent, Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, Benfica and Dinamo Zagreb are in pole position for the third pot if they win their playoff ties. However, if two or more of those clubs lose their playoffs, then Beşiktaş and Dynamo Kiev will move into the the third pot.
With clubs not allowed to be drawn into a group with teams from the same league, there are multiple, mouth-watering, group-of-death scenarios that could occur. It's also entirely possible that a Manchester City, PSG, Ajax and AC Milan group could be drawn along with a Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Porto, Monaco group and a Chelsea, Barcelona, Atalanta, Wolfsburg group, for instance.
After setting a U.S. record with 10 American players named to Champions League rosters, there's a good chance that the record with be broken again this season with the teams of Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), John Brooks (Wolfsburg), Tim Weah (Lille), Zack Steffen (Manchester City), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich) and Owen Otasowie (Club Brugge) already having their clubs' places cemented in the group stage. Brenden Aaronson (RB Salzburg), Jordan Siebatcheu (Young Boys), Christian Cappis (Brøndby) and Henry Wingo (Ferencváros) could also add to the list based on the results of the playoff, as could any potential transfers with next Tuesday's deadline approaching.
As a result of the vast numbers, a group featuring Pulisic, McKennie and Adams, for instance, is not out of the question, among the many permutations of groups that feature multiple U.S. internationals.
The Champions League group stage will take place across six weeks starting soon after next week's international break.
Matchday 1: September 14-15
Matchday 2: September 28-29
Matchday 3: October 19-20
Matchday 4: November 2-3
Matchday 5: November 23-24
Matchday 6: December 7-8
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