Draw Details and Liverpool's Pot
The Champions League league phase draw takes place on Thursday, August 27, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, starting at 6pm local time (5pm UK, midday ET). Liverpool, as four-time European champions, are in Pot 1 based on their UEFA coefficient ranking, but this offers no sporting advantage in the new format. They will face two teams from each of the four pots, totaling eight different opponents.[S1][S4]
The draw is the third for the expanded 36-team league phase, which replaced the traditional group stage. A top-eight finish secures direct passage to the last 16, while teams finishing 9th to 24th enter a playoff round. Those 25th or lower are eliminated. Liverpool cannot face fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, or Aston Villa, and a new UEFA rule prevents them from playing Real Madrid at Anfield for a third consecutive season, though they could face them at the Bernabéu.[S1][S4]
Potential Opponents by Pot
In Pot 1, Liverpool could face Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, or Inter Milan. They will want to avoid PSG, who have knocked them out in the last two campaigns, and also Barcelona and Bayern. Atlético and Inter are more palatable, as Liverpool beat both last season. Pot 2 includes Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting CP, Porto, and others, with Club Brugge, PSV, and Real Betis seen as easier options.[S1][S3]
Pot 3 features Feyenoord, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Lille, Villarreal, and Turkish sides Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, the latter having beaten Liverpool twice last season. A trip to Bodø/Glimt in the Arctic Circle would be challenging, while Shakhtar Donetsk, playing at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge due to the Ukraine conflict, would be a more favorable away game. Pot 4 includes debutants Como, Sabah, Viking, and LASK, with Stuttgart and Lens as tricky tests, and AEK Athens returning for the first time since 2018-19.[S1]
Best and Worst Scenarios
According to Opta's Power Rankings, every Premier League club would ideally face the two weakest non-English teams in each pot. For Pot 1, that means Inter Milan (10th) and Atlético Madrid (31st). Conversely, the toughest draw would pit them against the strongest sides like PSG, Bayern, and Real Madrid, making advancement much more difficult.[S3]
Liverpool's league phase campaign begins sooner than expected, and with the new format, every match matters. The Reds will be hoping for a favorable schedule to secure a top-eight finish and avoid the playoff round, setting up a strong run towards the final at the Metropolitano in Madrid next June.[S4]
