Due to adding 4 additional teams, UEFA have changed the format for the Champions League.
That ensures there are more fixtures then usual before the last 16 and with clubs facing two sides from each seeded pot, in theory matches should be more competitive than what we used to get.
The previous system saw 8 groups of 4 teams. The 4 sides would square off home/ away with the top 2 advancing to the knockout stages.
Sections would be determined by seeding. So, if you were ranked a top seed, you couldn’t be drawn against the other 7 sides your seeded with.
This season Arsenal will be in pot 2 but in many ways that’s irrelevant as we will be drawn against 2 teams from each of the 4 pots anyway.
That will decide the 8 teams we face, 4 matches at home and 4 away.
The draw will determine which game from each pot will be home or away.
There is room for error.
The top 8 qualify for the next round while 9th – 24th will meet in a two-legged play off.
In other words, you would have to play quite badly not to at least be in the playoffs.
We will face ….
2 teams from Pot A (1 home, 1 Away)
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich
Paris Saint-Germain
Inter Milan
Borussia Dortmund
RB Leipzig
Barcelona
2 teams from Pot B (1 home, 1 away)
Bayer Leverkusen
Atletico Madrid
Atalanta
Juventus
Benfica
Club Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan (*could drop into Pot 3)
Two teams from Pot 3 (1 home, 1 away)
Feyenoord,
Sporting CP
PSV,
Celtic
Young Boys or Galatasaray
Dinamo Zagreb or Qarabag
Lille or Slavia Prague
Two teams from Pot 4 (1 home, 1 away)
Malmo or Sparta Prague
Monaco
Bologna
Girona
Stuttgart
Sturm Graz
Brest
Seeding for last two Pots will be clarified once the qualifiers are finished Wednesday night with the following not clear what Pot they would be in
Midtjylland or Slovan Bratislava,
Bodo/Glimt or Red Star Belgrade
Dynamo Kyiv or RB Salzburg
We can’t be drawn against a team from England or more than 2 sides from each nation.
Worst Case Scenario
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen
Juventus
PSV
Sporting Lisbon
Girona
Bolonga
Best Case Scenario
RB Leipzig
Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
Celtic
Dinamo Zagreb or Qarabag
Sturm Graz
Midtjylland or Slovan Bratislava,
Draw tonight at 17-00 pm.
DAN
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