The eyes of the football world will once again be on Monaco from 18.00 CET when the group stage of the Champions League is drawn in the Grimaldi Forum. FC Bayern wait - exactly like the other 31 top European clubs - with great anticipation of where the new season in Europe’s premier club competition will lead to. The group stage starts on 17/18 September – fcbayern.com looks at the potential opponents for Germany’s record champions.
The team led by Niko Kovač joins the Champions League winners Liverpool, Europa League winners Chelsea plus the champions from the six best European leagues in the first of four pots in the draw. A team is drawn from each pot for the eight groups with clubs from the same national association not able to play each other at this stage. Ties against Borussia Dortmund, Bayer 04 Leverkusen or RB Leipzig are not possible.
First meeting with Spurs or eternal duel with Real?
The toughest challenge awaiting the Reds is definitely from pot two. In addition to the eternal clash with Real Madrid, there is also the possibility of meeting last season’s finalists Tottenham Hotspur. That has never happened before in Europe’s elite club competition and that would mean a first trip for Bayern to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened in February 2019. Memories are still fresh of the duels with Benfica and Ajax who were FCB’s opponents in last season’s group stage. Atlético Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk or Napoli with coach Carlo Ancelotti are possible opponents from pot 2.
Pot 3 includes two teams in Inter Milan (2010) and Valencia (2001) that FC Bayern have already met in the final of the Champions League. The fans of the record champions would probably be happy facing Champions League newcomers FC Salzburg – with just 150 kilometres between the two stadiums it would be like a derby in this European competition. Other teams in pot 3 are Dinamo Zagreb, Olympiakos and FC Brugge.
The last opponents in the group stage will be from pot 4: In Atalanta, Slavia Prague and RC Genk there are teams FC Bayern have never crossed swords with before. There could be a swift reunion with Renato Sanches as the Portugal international only joined the French runners-up Lille last week, a team FC Bayern played in the group stage of the treble season in 2012/13. Galatasaray, Lokomotive Moscow and Red Star Belgrade complete the starting field.
The group stage pots
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Real Madrid | Olympique Lyon | Lokomotive Moscow |
| Chelsea | Atlético Madrid | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | Galatasaray |
| Barcelona | Borussia Dortmund | FC Salzburg | RB Leipzig |
| Manchester City | Napoli | Olympiakos | RC Genk |
| Juventus | Shakhtar Donezk | FC Brugge | Slavia Prague |
| FC Bayern | Tottenham Hotspur | FC Valencia | Red Star Belgrade |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Ajax | Inter Milan | Atalanta |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | Benfica | Dinamo Zagreb | OSC Lille |
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