The expected pots for next season’s Champions League draw have been confirmed following the conclusion of most of Europe’s top competitions.
The continent’s premier competition has undergone a major overhaul ahead of next season, with the group stage replaced by a league stage in which all 36 teams compete against each other.
Teams will play eight matches in the qualifying stage instead of six, with the top eight teams qualifying for the last 16 and ninth to 24th competing in a play-off to join them.
There will, as usual, be four pots for the draw, which will take place later this summer, with nine teams placed into pots determined based on UEFA coefficient rankings that take into account teams’ performances in European competitions over the past five years to take.
While there are still a number of pots to be decided, pot one has already been confirmed, with Arsenal missing out due to their six-year absence from the Champions League prior to this season.
The expected pots for next season’s Champions League draw have been revealed following the end of most of the top European League campaigns
Pot one has been confirmed, including Real Madrid and Manchester City
However, Arsenal have missed out on a top spot due to their recent performances in European competitions
The Gunners, who have a coefficient score of 72,000, are 22nd in the UEFA club coefficient rankings, 16th among the sides that have qualified for next season’s Champions League. They are therefore placed in pot two.
The confirmed pot one will consist of Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig and Barcelona – who survived in pot one due to Roma failing to qualify after their final match of the Series A season.
Groups are now decided purely on coefficient rankings rather than pot one, consisting of holders, Europa League winners and domestic champions.
Confirmed in pot two are Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge and AC Milan, with Shakhtar Donetsk expected to join them via qualification.
There are still seven places to be secured in the qualifying stages, but if all goes as expected, Aston Villa, the last Premier League team in the competition with a score of 20,860, is expected to find themselves in pot four.
Celtic, meanwhile, could get into pot three with 32,000. They are expected to be the lowest ranked team in the pot, based on the teams assumed to qualify for the league stage.
They will join the likes of Feyenoord, Sporting CP and PSV, while teams such as Monaco, Stuttgart and Bologna will join Villa.
The Gunners are placed in pot two but thought this would not affect the difficulty of their draw
Liverpool will also be placed in pot one ahead of the new format for the competition next year
Aston Villa are now in pot four for their return to the Champions League
| Jar 1 | Jar 2 | Jar 3 | Jar 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester city | Bayer Leverkusen | Feyenoord | Galatasaray |
| Bayern Munich | Atletico Madrid | Sporty CP | AS Monaco |
| Real Madrid | Atalanta | PSV | Sparta Praha |
| PSG | Juventus | Lille | Aston Villa |
| Liverpool | Benfica | PAOK | Bologna |
| below | Arsenal | Fenerbahce | Girona |
| Borussia Dortmund | Club Brugge | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Stuttgart |
| Leipzig | Shaktar Donetsk | Young boys | Sturm Graz |
| Barcelona | AC Milan | Celtic | Stade Brestois |
In the previous Champions League format, playing in a lower pot would have meant more difficult matches for a team, with groups of four consisting of one team from each pot.
Now, however, the sides will each play two teams from each pot, including their own, meaning the task won’t be any more difficult no matter which pot they are in.
However, the fact that Arsenal are in pot two instead of pot one could have a negative impact on other sides, as two teams from pot two will have to play the Gunners as well as two teams from pot one.