Everything you need to know about Aston Villa’s potential Champions League opponents ahead of today’s draw.
The Champions League is finally set to get underway next month with Europe’s most prestigious competition making a return to Villa Park.
Unai Emery’s wonders at the Birmingham outfit once again reaped its rewards as the club finished fourth in the Premier League and subsequently qualified for the competition.
Now, Villa are set to find out who they will face in the league phase of the competition tonight at 5pm, as their potential opponents and the new format is explained below.
Read more: How to watch Aston Villa’s Champions League draw.
Who could Aston Villa face in the Champions League?
For the league phase draw, Villa will be in pot four. The club will subsequently be drawn against eight different teams, two for each pot with one being at Villa Park and the other away.
At this stage of the Champions League, Villa cannot face another English side, eliminating the possibility of facing Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Villa also cannot face more than two teams from the same nation.
Below are the confirmed pots ahead of Thursday night’s draw.
Pot one
- Manchester City
- Bayern Munich
- Real Madrid
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Liverpool
- Inter
- Borussia Dortmund
- RB Leipzig
- Barcelona
Pot two
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Atletico Madrid
- Atalanta
- Juventus
- Benfica
- Club Brugge
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- AC Milan
Pot three
- Feyenoord
- Sporting CP
- PSV Eindhoven
- Dinamo Zagreb
- RB Salzburg
- Lille
- Crvena Zvezda
- Young Boys
- Celtic
Pot four
- Slovan Bratislava
- AS Monaco
- Sparta Praha
- Aston Villa
- Bologna
- Girona
- Stuttgart
- Sturm Graz
- Stade Brestois
By examining the pots, Villa’s best-case scenario might include RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Club Brugge, Benfica, Crvena Zvezda, Dinamo Zagreb, Slovan Bratislava and Sturm Graz.
Whereas, a worst-case scenario could see Villa face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Lille, PSV Eindhoven, AS Monaco and Stuttgart.
How does the new Champions League format work?
Starting from this season, instead of the group stages, the Champions League will have a league table.
To qualify for the knockout stages, Villa will need to finish in the top 24 at a minimum. Teams who finish in the top eight will automatically qualify for the last 16. However, if a side ends up between ninth and 24th place, they will have to compete in a play-off game to qualify for the next round.
If the club wins the playoff game, they will then face one of the teams that finished in the top eight. Anyone below this position will be eliminated from all European competitions that season.
