After Tuesday evening, the last twelve clubs will be known that can still enforce a place in the main tournament in the Champions League via the play-off. With that, the balance can be carefully drawn up for the draw for the group stage, which will be held in Istanbul on August 26 at 6 p.m. Ajax and PSV – provided that Benfica is settled in the last preliminary round – seem to have to fear a very tough group.
PSV already dealt with Galatasaray (5-1 and 1-2) and FC Midtjylland (3-0 and 0-1) in the qualifying cycle of the Champions League, after which Benfica forms the last hurdle towards the main tournament. The number three of the past Primeira Liga season succeeded in eliminating Spartak Moscow in the third preliminary round: 0-2 and 2-0. In addition to PSV and Benfica, ten more clubs can make it to the main tournament from the preliminary rounds. Through the so-called league path AS Monaco and Shakhtar Donetsk are also still fighting for a ticket.
There are four more diptychs on the champions path of the Champions League qualifying cycle: Red Bull Salzburg – Bröndby IF, Young Boys – Ferencváros, Malmö FF – Ludogorets and Sheriff Tiraspol – Dinamo Zagreb. However, none of these clubs will be in pot 1 or pot 2 for the draw. The composition of pot 1 was already determined in advance, because there is room for the Champions League winner, the Europa League winner and the champions of Spain, Germany, France, England, Italy and Portugal.
The pot breakdown for the Champions League draw (coefficient total in brackets)
| Jar 1 | Jar 2 | jar 3 | Jar 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea (98,000) | Real Madrid (127,000) | FC Porto (87,000) | Club Brugge (35,500) |
| Villarreal (63,000) | Barcelona (122,000) | Ajax (82,500) | AC Milan (31,000) |
| Atletico Madrid (115,000) | Juventus (120,000) | RB Leipzig (66,000) | VfL Wolfsburg (14,714) |
| Manchester City (125,000) | Manchester United (113,000) | Atalanta (50,500) | |
| Bayern Munich (134,000) | Paris Saint Germain (113,000) | Zenith (50,000) | |
| International (53,000) | Liverpool (101,000) | ||
| Lille OSC (14,000) | Seville (98,000) | ||
| Sporting Portugal (45,500) | Borussia Dortmund (90,000) |
Pot 2 is so heavily occupied that no club from the preliminary rounds will get a place in it. Ajax also has to make do with a place in pot 3. PSV will in any case receive a place in pot 4 when they reach the group stage of the Champions League, while Benfica would receive a place in pot 3 based on its coefficient. means that an extremely tough draw could be drawn up in Istanbul for the Dutch clubs. Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus missed the league title in their competitions and therefore have a place in pot 2.
Clubs that are not yet sure of their pot
| POSTED | NOT YET POSTED |
|---|---|
| Besikas (49,000) | Red Bull Salzburg (59,000) or Brondby IF (7,000) |
| Dynamo Kyiv (47,000) | Young Boys (35,000) orFerencvaros (13,500) |
| Malmo FF (18,500) or Ludogorets (28,000) | |
| Sheriff Tiraspol (14,500) or Dinamo Zagreb (44,500) | |
| AS Monaco (36,000) or Shakhtar Donetsk (79,000) | |
| Benfica (58,000) or PSV (29,000) |
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