Champions League draw: Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs or Man City could face ‘group of death’ in next Thursday’s draw
TOTTENHAM are the most likely English team to find themselves in the Group of Death at this season’s Champions League.
The draw – which also includes Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City – takes place next Thursday in Monaco.
However, despite finishing as runners-up last season, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are not placed in pot one, leaving them at greater risk of a nightmare draw.
All the other English teams are in pot one.
Teams from the same country cannot play each other.
So from pot one, Spurs could face Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, PSG or Zenit St Petersburg.
Coming up against Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Co would be the toughest task there.
But it doesn’t get much easier.
In pot three they could draw Inter Milan – boosted by the arrival of new manager Antonio Conte ex-Man Utd striker Romelu Lukaku – and RB Leipzig from pot four.
That is a brutal list of fixtures to get through just to make it through to the knockout rounds.
Although it is unconfirmed, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax and Benfica are all set to join Spurs in pot two.
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Everything but pot one is official because there is still another round of qualifying play-off games to go.
For Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City in pot one, their Group of Death would see them come up against Real Madrid, Inter Milan and RB Leipzig.
Madrid have already spent big this summer, landing Eden Hazard for £150million.
But they could add Neymar too, as they are trying to tie up a last-minute deal for the Brazil superstar.
A best case scenario would see the English teams in pot one drawn in a group that includes Shakhtar Donetsk from pot two, Club Brugge from pot three and Genk from the final pot of teams.
The draw will take place on Thursday, August 29, in the lavish surroundings of Monaco and will likely get started at 5pm UK time.
You can watch all of the groups take shape on BT Sport.
If you’re a BT customer, download the BT Sport app to watch wherever you are.
Uefa will provide a free live stream on their official website.
How does the draw work?
- 26 teams given direct entry to the group stage will be joined by the six winners of the play-off ties.
- The teams will then be split into four seeding pots.
- Pot 1 consists of the holders, Europa League winners and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations. Pots 2 to 4 are determined by the club coefficient rankings.
- No team can play a club from their own association, with the exact draw procedure to be confirmed before the ceremony.
- The draw also establishes the groups for the UEFA Champions League path of the UEFA Youth League.
Champions League 2019/20 schedule
August 2019
- Play off round, first leg – August 20/21
- Play off round, second leg – August 27/28
- Group stage draw, Monaco – August 29
September 2019
- Group stage, matchday one – September 17/18
October 2019
- Group stage, matchday two – October 1/2
- Group stage, matchday three – October 22/23
November 2019
- Group stage, matchday four – November 5/6
- Group stage, matchday five – November 26/27
December 2019
- Group stage, matchday six – December 10/11
- Round of 16 draw, Nyon – December 16
February 2020
- Round of 16, first leg – February 18/19 and 25/26
March 2020
- Round of 16, second leg – March 10/11 and 17/18
- Quarter final and semi-final draw, Nyon – March 20
April 2020
- Quarter finals, first leg – April 7/8
- Quarter finals, second leg – April 14/15
- Semi finals, first leg – April 28/29
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May 2020
- Semi finals, second leg – May 5/6
- Final, Istanbul – May 30