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Champions League draw: Pot details

:Headline: Champions League draw: Pot details: ID:173527: from db_amp
Sports Mole brings you details of which sides will feature in the four respective pots ahead of this afternoon's Champions League group stage draw.

Today marks one of the most anticipated days in the football calendar - the Champions League group stage draw.

After several rounds of qualifying, the full 32-team lineup is now known, with the clubs now being divided into eight groups of four.

Each group will include a side that has been seeded one, two three and four, based on their UEFA coefficients, but teams from the same country cannot face each other during the group stage.

Read below to find out details of each pot ahead of the draw that will take place at later today at approximately 4.45pm, BST.


Pot one

Real Madrid head the list of teams in pot one after their triumph in last year's competition, while they are closely followed in the UEFA coefficient standings by arch rivals Barcelona.

Bayern Munich are another of the pre-tournament favourites after their most recent performances in the competition, while Chelsea will be keen to make up for last season's semi-final disappointment by reaching a third final in 12 months' time.

Despite losing in the group stages for the past two campaigns, Benfica rise three places afters their exploits in the Europa League, with Atletico Madrid earning promotion from pot two after their run to the final last year.

Arsenal's Champions League consistency is rewarded with a place among the top seeds, while Porto manage to hang on to their pot-one status ahead of a array of European giants.

Teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Porto


Pot two

Pot two is stacked with clubs that the top seeds will want to avoid, with Ligue 1 winners Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League champions Manchester City likely to be the most feared teams.

2012 runners-up Borussia Dortmund and Serie A champions Juventus follow close behind, with all four sides having the potential to upstage their rivals in the group.

Trips to Zenit St Petersburg and Shakhtar Donetsk will be ones to be avoided, but Donetsk could see their games moved to a neutral venue after their stadium was damaged by two explosions last week.

Schalke 04 narrowly missed out on a place in pot one, but they aren't the threat they once were, with Swiss outfit Basel expected to be the club that everyone will be wanting to be paired with in Thursday's draw.

Teams: Schalke 04, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Basel, Zenit St Petersburg, Manchester City


Pot three

Premier League runners-up Liverpool have been included in pot three on their return to the Champions League, and they will be joined by Athletic Bilbao as the clubs to miss from this section of the draw.

Bayer Leverkusen's win over Dortmund at the weekend could indicate they could impress this campaign, while pairings with CSKA Moscow and Galatasaray will be considered as ones to be avoided.

Olympiacos, Ajax and Sporting Lisbon all have plenty of European pedigree, but the top teams will be looking to face them in the group stages.

Teams: Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow, Ajax, Liverpool, Sporting Lisbon, Galatasaray, Athletic Bilbao


Pot four

The runners-up from Ligue and Serie A - AS Monaco and Roma - are undoubtedly the big hitters in pot four and they could help form a 'group of death' should the luck of the draw go against them.

As far as the other teams are concerned, the length of trip rather than the quality of opposition will be the greater concern, meaning that Bate Borisov and Ludogorets Razgrad, despite their minnow status, might not be a favourable draw for teams in Western Europe.

From a travelling perspective, Anderlecht will appeal, while APOEL, Maribor and Malmo are unlikely to have any impact in the competition.

Teams: Anderlecht, Roma, APOEL, Bate Borisov, Ludogorets Razgrad, Maribor, AS Monaco, Malmo


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