For the first time, five Bundesliga teams will compete in the Champions League group stage. In the draw, they will belong to different pots.
With Manchester City and AC Milan, more champions have been confirmed since Sunday – and at the same time more line-ups in the draw for the Champions League group stage on 25 August. The four draw pots are taking shape and the five Bundesliga teams already know their fate.
Bayern and Frankfurt in the first pot, Leipzig in the second
With champions FC Bayern and Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt, two German clubs will be in the first pot. They will be joined by ManCity, Milan, Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain and FC Porto, further champions from Europe’s top leagues. The eighth and final spot will go to either Liverpool FC if they win the Champions League on Saturday, or Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam if they don’t.
Liverpool or Ajax – that is also the last open question in the second lottery pot. It is already certain that RB Leipzig, Chelsea FC, FC Barcelona, Juventus Turin, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla FC and Tottenham Hotspur will be in it.
Dortmund and Leverkusen face challenging opponents
On the other hand, runners-up Borussia Dortmund only just made it into the third pot this time, having also slipped behind Leipzig (83,000) with their UEFA coefficient (78,000). This means BVB cannot face RB Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, SSC Napoli and Sporting Lisbon, who also start safely from the third draw pot – just like Bayer Leverkusen.
This means that Dortmund and Leverkusen face a very challenging group with one member each from the first and second pots. Who will be eligible from the fourth and last pot is still largely unclear. The qualification process has to be completed first. Only Club Brugge and Celtic Glasgow have already secured their place here.