The projected pots for next season’s Champions League draw have been confirmed following the conclusion of the majority of Europe’s top leagues.
The continent’s premier competition has undergone a major revamp ahead of next season, with the group stages replaced by a league stage which will see all 36 sides ranked against each other.
Teams will play eight games in the qualification stage instead of six, with the top eight sides to qualify for the last 16 and ninth to 24th battling it out 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 in pots decided by UEFA coefficient rankings that consider teams’ performances in European competitions over the last five years.
Though some pots are yet 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 projected pots for next season’s Champions League draw have been revealed this week
Pot one has been confirmed, with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City to feature
Arsenal, however, have missed out on a top seed spot due to their recent performances in European competitions
The Gunners, who have a coefficient score of 72.000, are ranked 22nd in UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, 16th out of the sides that have qualified for next season’s Champions League. They will, therefore, be 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 game of the Serie 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 through qualifying.
There are seven further spots to be claimed through the qualification stage, but, if all goes as expected, Aston Villa, the final Premier League team in the competition who have a score of 20.860, are expected to be in pot four.
Celtic, meanwhile, with 32.000, may creep into pot three. They are projected to be the lowest-ranked side in the pot based on the teams that are assumed to be set to qualify for the league stage.
They are set to join the likes of Feyenoord, Sporting CP and PSV, while teams such as Monaco, Stuttgart and Bologna will join Villa.
The Gunners are set to be placed in pot two, thought it will not impact their draw’s difficulty
Liverpool will also be seeded in pot one ahead of the new format for the competition next year
Aston Villa, meanwhile, are set to be in pot four for their return to Champions League action
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | Bayer Leverkusen | Feyenoord | Galatasaray |
| Bayern Munich | Atletico Madrid | Sporting Lisbon | AS Monaco |
| Real Madrid | Atalanta | PSV | Sparta Prague |
| PSG | Juventus | Lille | Aston Villa |
| Liverpool | Benfica | PAOK | Bologna |
| Inter | Arsenal | Fenerbahce | Girona |
| Borussia Dortmund | Club Brugge | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Stuttgart |
| Leipzig | Shakhtar Donetsk | Young Boys | Sturm Graz |
| Barcelona | AC Milan | Celtic | Brest |
In the previous Champions League format, being in a lower pot would have meant more difficult fixtures for a side, with groups of four consisting of one team from each pot.
Now, however, sides will each play two teams from each pot including their own, meaning the task will be no more difficult whatever pot they are in.
Arsenal being in pot two rather than one could have a negative impact on other sides, though, with two teams from pot two having to play the Gunners as well as two teams from pot one.