Liverpool, Arsenal and Premier League rivals' dream and nightmare Champions League draws
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Arsenal were knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals last season(Image: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)The Premier League is two games old and now attention will turn to the Champions League, with the draw taking place on Thursday.
There is a heavy English presence in the competition this season, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham among the 36 teams in the draw.
It will be the second season of the new Champions League format, with four-team groups gone in favour of a longer league phase.
The draw takes place on Thursday, August 28 at 5pm BST following the conclusion of the final play-offs on Wednesday evening.
There are guaranteed to be some tasty fixtures, with each side handed matches against two sides from each pot.
Here Mirror Football takes a look at the four pots and considers the dream and nightmare scenarios for the English clubs involved.
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Pot 1
Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona
Pot 2
Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Benfica*, Club Brugge*
Pot 3
Tottenham, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille
Pot 4
Monaco, Pafos, Galatasaray, Kairat Almaty, Union Saint-Gilloise, Athletic Club, Newcastle, Copenhagen*, Ferencvaros*
*subject to move, with four other places still up for grabs in the play-offs
Mikel Arteta enjoyed a good European campaign in 2024/25(Image: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Gunners reached the semi-finals last season after a strong showing, but are in Pot 2, having been ranked 15th in UEFA’s coefficient.
Mikel Arteta’s side did well in the league phase last season, finishing third with six wins from their eight matches, but will hope to avoid PSG, who had their number in the semi-final, winning both legs on their way to lifting the trophy.
In truth, beyond PSG there are no bogey sides for Liverpool, who will be one of the favourites.
Manchester City struggled in the Champions League last season(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
City struggled massively in the Champions League last season, finishing 22nd in the league phase with just three wins from their eight games.
Enzo Maresca’s side have been placed in Pot 1, despite sitting 14th in the UEFA coefficient rankings, which is a nice start to the competition.
Chelsea showed they can mix it with the best by beating PSG 3-0 in the Club World Cup final over the summer, but they would perhaps prefer to play Dortmund and Inter from Pot 1.
With Kairat Almaty in the Champions League this year, there will be some familiar Conference League vibes for them to make them feel at home.
Eddie Howe has endured a difficult summer and how discover Newcastle's fate in Europe(Image: Getty Images)
The Magpies come in a lowly 85th in the UEFA coefficient and are therefore in Pot 4 and bracing themselves for some challenging fixtures.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are to be avoided, but the league format gives them a decent chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Matchday 1: September 16-17, 2025
Matchday 2: September 30-October 1, 2025
Matchday 3: October 21-22, 2025
Matchday 4: November 4-5, 2025
Matchday 5: November 25-26, 2025
Matchday 6: December 9-10, 2025
Matchday 7: January 20-21, 2026
Article continues below
Matchday 8: January 28, 2026
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