Man Utd facing group of death as Champions League pots all but confirmed
Manchester United could be drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Real Sociedad in the group stage of the Champions League.
Erik ten Hag's side qualified for UEFA's primary club competition by beating Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday night. The Red Devils are now guaranteed to finish in the top four of the Premier League, ending a two-year wait for Champions League football.
United are one of 19 teams to have secured their place in next season's tournament. Although it's too early to say exactly who United will face in the group stage, Mirror Football can confidently predict a worst case scenario draw based on the existing information.
Next season's Champions League draw will be split into four pots. Pot 1 will include the winners of the seven biggest European leagues plus the Europa League holders. Jose Mourinho's Roma face six-time winners Sevilla in the final of the latter competition.
Manchester City (Premier League), Barcelona (LaLiga), Napoli (Serie A) and Feyenoord (Eredivisie) have already booked their place in Pot 1 by winning their respective leagues, while Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1), Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga) and Benfica (Primeira Liga) are on course to join them.
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As United are ranked seventh on UEFA's club coefficients list, they are guaranteed to be placed in Pot 2. They cannot face another English club in the group stage.
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As such, United will play one of Barcelona, Napoli, Feyenoord, PSG, Dortmund or Benfica (presuming the latter three sides win their respective leagues) in the opening round. Arsenal are also set to be in Pot 2, despite being ranked 23rd on the coefficients list.
In terms of Pot 3, Red Bull Salzburg, Lazio and Red Star Belgrade are all expected to be in there after securing qualification. Milan will join them if they hold on to fourth spot in Serie A. They are currently three points clear of Atalanta in fifth with two games remaining.
Newcastle will be in Pot 4 after a 10-year exile from European competitions. Celtic are the only other team guaranteed to be in that pot, but Sociedad - who finished above Ten Hag's side in their Europa League group this season - should join them. They are fourth in LaLiga, five points ahead of Villarreal in fifth.
As Arsenal are set to join United in Pot 2, they could also be handed this tough draw. Yet it's not all bad news for the Red Devils and the Gunners, with the possibility of a more comfortable draw. They could end up facing Feyenoord, Zagreb and Celtic, for example.
City's nightmare draw is perhaps just as daunting, as they could be pitted against Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. Newcastle, meanwhile, could end up facing PSG, Real and Milan.
United, Arsenal, City and Newcastle will not know their fate until the draw takes place on August 31, with qualifiers finishing a day earlier.
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