UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW TOMORROW: BEST CASE AND WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR LIVERPOOL

The 2021/22 Champions League group stages commence on the 14th of September and run through till the 8th of December. The draw itself will be organised tomorrow in Turkey (5pm BST/4pm GMT), as the race to Istanbul kicks off in earnest. Chelsea legends Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Essien are pencilled in to help with the draw process as 32 teams find out their fate.

As usual, there will be eight groups consisting of four teams. And they will all be drawn from a pool of four pots containing eight teams each. Pot 1 comprises of the winners of the Champions League (Chelsea) and Europa League (Villarreal), as well as the champions of the six highest ranked leagues in Europe (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal).

Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Lille and Sporting Lisbon respectively won the titles so take their place in Pot 1. Pots 2,3 and 4 are determined on UEFA club coefficients. Pot 2 looks menacing as it comprises Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund.

Six slots go to the winners of the Playoffs, and with Benfica, Young Boys and Malmo all sealing qualification through the playoffs last night, Salzburg, Monaco and surprise outfit FC Sheriff completed the set tonight by winning their various playoff ties. Therefore, Pot 3 now looks like; FC Porto, Ajax, RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Zenit St. Petersburg, Benfica, RB Salzburg and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The final pot, Pot 4 is made up of seven time champions AC Milan, who make a return to the competition after a long abscence. Club Brugge, Wolfsburg, FC Sheriff, Malmo, Besiktas, Young Boys and Dynamo Kiev make up the rest of the pot. As usual, clubs from the same country can not be drawn against each other in the same group.

Pot 1

Chelsea, Villarreal, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Lille, Sporting Lisbon.

Pot 2

Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund.

Pot 3

FC Porto, Ajax, RB Leipzig, Atalanta, Zenit St. Petersburg, Benfica, RB Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk.

Pot 4

AC Milan, Club Brugge, Wolfsburg, FC Sheriff, Malmo, Besiktas, Young Boys, Dynamo Kiev.

So what does the best case scenario look like for Liverpool? Lille, Sporting Lisbon and Villarreal (in that order) are the ‘weakest’ teams from Pot 1, whilst Pot 3 contains teams of similar quality. Milan are the team to avoid in Pot 4, with Club Brugge offering a reunion with Simon Mignolet. Travel distances will also have to be kept in mind as clubs week to avoid jet lag.

Best case scenario

Lille, Liverpool, Benfica, Malmo

A comfortable enough looking group could see Liverpool wrap up qualification with a game to spare just like last season when the group had Ajax, Atalanta and FC Midjtylland. This group offers a similar level of difficulty we feel.

The worst case scenario could offer a really tasty group. In Pot 1, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan are ones to avoid (in that order). Pot 3 as we’ve said, offers a similar level of quality and Liverpool have recent memories of Porto, Ajax, Leipzig and Atalanta. Trips to Russia or Ukraine to face Zenit or Shakhtar respectively wouldn’t be ideal either, whilst a Milan tie will offer lots of nostalgia.

Worst case scenario

Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Leipzig, AC Milan

A rematch against Diego Simeone’s side will offer a chance for revenge after the Reds were knocked out by the Spanish outfit last season. Leipzig would also be out for revenge, whilst Milan will bring back old memories of crazy finals.

However the draw goes, Jurgen Klopp’s side will be confident of progressing from the group and going all the way to the final which will be held at the Ataturk stadium in Istanbul, a ground which holds a special place for the club. He would hope for a kinder draw though, so as to not take too much attention away from their Premier League title challenge.

You wouldn’t want a midweek tie away to the Wanda Metropolitano, three days before a trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Premier League. Yikes. All will be revealed tomorrow.