The draw for the Champions League group stage is imminent with Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester clubs making up the English contingent in this year's competition.
Following the summer exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid are being tipped by many to finally relinquish their three-year stranglehold on the trophy in what might be something of a transitional season for the Spanish giants.
Manchester City & Juventus are the favorites with most bookmakers before anyone's group opponents have been revealed, but the route to the knockout stages will become clear following Thursday evening's draw in Monaco. Here are the pot seedings:
Pot 1
Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus, PSG, Lokomotiv Moscow
Pot 2
Borussia Dortmund, Porto, Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli, Tottenham, Roma, Benfica
Pot 3
Liverpool, Schalke, Lyon, Monaco, PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, CSKA Moscow, Valencia
Pot 4
Viktoria Plzen, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Young Boys, Inter Milan, Hoffenheim, AEK Athens, Red Star Belgrade
The 2018/19 Champions League is set 🌟 pic.twitter.com/p0eWbeKj4z
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 29, 2018
With teams from the same country kept apart for the first half of the competition, the English sides will avoid each other until the quarter finals at least. Benfica's play-off win over PAOK Salonika has pushed Liverpool down from pot 2 to pot 3, meaning they could potentially face a much tougher draw than they would have hoped for. Here are the best and worst case scenarios for the Premier League hopefuls.
Manchester City
This will be City's eighth consecutive season in Europe's top competition, and having dominated English football for the last twelve months under Pep Guardiola the expectation now is that they should at least go one further than their previous best, which was a semi-final appearance in 2016. They have been unlucky with group draws in the past but having top seed this year should in theory grant them an easier route to the knockouts.
Best draw: Benfica, PSV Eindhoven, Red Star Belgrade
Worst draw: Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, Inter Milan
Manchester United
The current mood at Old Trafford is arguably lower than it has ever been since they returned to the Champions League under Jose Mourinho. It is difficult to see them going far in the competition without a notable improvement in form after a turbulent summer transfer window was compounded by a disappointing start to their league campaign.
Best draw: Lokomotiv Moscow, PSV Eindhoven, Red Star Belgrade
Worst draw: Barcelona, Monaco, Inter Milan
Tottenham
After topping their group last season ahead of Real Madrid & Borussia Dortmund, Spurs were undone in the last 16 by a street-smart Juventus side who taught Pochettino's youngsters a lesson in how to pick off an opponent against the run of play. It will be interesting to see if they can build on that experience and emerge as serious contenders this year.
Best draw: Lokomotiv Moscow, PSV Eindhoven, Red Star Belgrade
Worst draw: Barcelona, Monaco, Inter Milan
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp's side will be feared by most in this year's competition, after blitzing their way to the final in Kiev back in May. Having strengthened in the summer, a Karius-less line-up with a reinforced midfield bodes well despite the disappointment of dropping into pot 3. They stand to face the stiffest test of all the English sides if the draw goes against them.
Best draw: Lokomotiv Moscow, Benfica, Red Star Belgrade
Worst draw: Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan
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