Manchester City could face a nightmare Champions League Group of Death in Thursday’s draw – despite being in Pot 1.
The Premier League champions continue to fight for an elusive first Champions League title as they await their group stage opponents.
It has now been 11 seasons since manager Pep Guardiola last won the competition, despite dominating both the Bundesliga and then Premier League during that time.
The addition of Erling Haaland surely boosts City’s chances of finally ending the drought, but there remains plenty of banana skins in the group stage.
Champions League pots
Pep Guardiola’s side are rewarded with a place in the top pot after winning the Premier League, while fellow English sides Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham are in Pot 2.
Pot 1
Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Man City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Ajax
Pot 2
Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham
Pot 3
Borussia Dortmund, Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 4
Rangers, Dinamo Zagreb, Marseille, Copenhagen, Club Brugge, Celtic, Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa
City will then face one of five teams in Pot Two, with the three English sides in that pot unable to be paired with the Blues as they are from the same association.
Best-case scenario
Man City
RB Leipzig
Shakhtar Donetsk
Club Brugge
Worst-case scenario (Group of Death)
Man City
Atlético de Madrid
Inter Milan
Olympique de Marseille
The draw for the Champions League group stage is on Thursday, August 25, at 5pm BST.
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