Best and worst case scenarios as Liverpool to discover Champions League opponents today | OneFootball

Liverpool will discover which eight teams they’ll face in the league phase of the Champions League when the draw takes place on Thursday evening.

This will be the second edition of the tournament under its revamped format, which sees all 36 teams ranked in one unwieldy table, with the top eight advancing directly to the round of 16 and the clubs placed 9th to 24th entering a play-off round in February.

The Reds topped the league phase last season but weren’t exactly rewarded for that feat as their first knockout opponents were Paris Saint-Germain, who went through on penalties at Anfield and subsequently won the competition in style, thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.

A quick reminder of how the draw works – Liverpool will face two teams from each of the four pots below (one at home and one away), but can play no more than two clubs from the same national association and none from England.

With that in mind, we’ve analysed what we believe to be the best- and worst-case scenarios for Arne Slot’s side in terms of the strength of opponents they could face, and the logistics involved in their away fixtures.

Image via UEFA.com

Best-case scenario for Liverpool

Pot 1: Inter (H), Dortmund (A)

Inter Milan may have won at Anfield on their last visit in March 2022, but it was a facile victory as the Reds progressed on aggregate, and the Nerazzurri could be reeling from their humiliation in last season’s final. They’re also entering into the unknown with an inexperienced coach in Cristian Chivu, who’s replaced a multiple trophy winner in Simone Inzaghi.

Dortmund are always competitive in the Champions League but won’t be among the favourites to win the tournament, and it’s definitely among the best away days on the continent for LFC fans, who last visited in the Europa League quarter-finals in Jurgen Klopp’s first season in charge.

Pot 2: Benfica (H), Club Brugge (A)

Benfica have a decent track record at Anfield, but they scraped past Fenerbahce in the play-offs and don’t have Darwin Nunez to score a hat-trick against us this time! Bruno Lage’s side wouldn’t be a pushover, for sure, but nor would they be the most daunting of Pot 2 opponents.

For Liverpool fans of a certain vintage, Club Brugge bring back happy memories of two victorious European finals in the 1970s. The current crop destroyed Rangers in the play-offs, but it’d take some doing to be worse than Russell Martin’s side had been in that tie. A beatable team, a cracking city and a manageable journey combine to make ideal away opposition.

(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Pot 3: Slavia Prague (H), Ajax (A)

Slavia Prague qualified automatically as Czech champions, but the comparative limitations of that division were exposed in the spring of 2024 when Liverpool destroyed their city rivals Sparta 11-2 on aggregate in the Europa League. The Reds should be fine against Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side at Anfield.

We’ve faced Ajax in Amsterdam twice in this decade and won on both occasions. LFC would fancy their chances of doing so again if given the opportunity this season, not to mention that it’s another brilliant city and would come with the bonus of a reunion with Slot’s former assistant Johnny Heitinga, who’s now their head coach.

Pot 4: Kairat Almaty (H), Copenhagen (A)

By far the lowest-ranked team in the Champions League at 315th in UEFA’s club coefficient (just behind Liepaja, Crusaders and Tirana), Kairat Almaty may have stunned Celtic in the play-offs, but surely they could be prone to some heavy beatings against Europe’s elite, especially on their travels.

Copenhagen reached the knockout phase two years ago, but their presence in Pot 4 contextualises their standing in comparison to the likes of Liverpool, and travel-wise there could be far worse journeys than a visit to the Danish capital.

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Worst-case scenario for Liverpool

Pot 1: Real Madrid (H), PSG (A)

Yes, we beat Real Madrid at Anfield last season, but most Reds fans must be thoroughly sick of the sight of them after the past decade or so. Also, the likelihood of defeating them two years in a row seems fanciful, not to mention the inevitable narrative surrounding a certain Trent Alexander-Arnold…

Likewise, we won away to PSG in March, but having been outplayed for much of that tie before losing on penalties at home, do we really want to come up against them so soon again? There are definitely more accommodating opponents in Pot 1 than the reigning European champions.

Pot 2: Atalanta (H), Atletico Madrid (A)

Atalanta have been to Anfield twice in the past five years and won on both occasions by a combined score of 5-0. Even with Gian Piero Gasperini gone and ex-Southampton boss Ivan Juric replacing him, we can’t imagine too many Liverpool fans relishing another visit from the Bergamo outfit if it happens.

Atletico Madrid are another team with form for eliminating us from Europe, having done so in 2010 and 2020, and Diego Simeone’s side specialise in the dark arts. Plus, they’re also quite good at football and have serious quality in attack with the likes of Julian Alvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Pot 3: Sporting Lisbon (H), Napoli (A)

Every team in Pots 3 and 4 should be beatable for Liverpool, but some seem more beatable than others. Sporting may have sold Viktor Gyokeres this summer, but they’ve had the measure of English teams in Europe in recent years and invariably churn out show-stopping players, either from their academy or discarded by other clubs across the continent.

Napoli are unquestionably the Pot 3 team that everyone will want to avoid, not least the Reds, who’ve lost away to the Serie A champions three times in the past seven years, including a 4-1 drubbing in 2022. They’ve gotten even stronger since then, too, and their home ground is always an absolute cauldron. We’ve done our time against them – someone else can have the pleasure this season!

Pot 4: Galatasaray (H), Kairat Almaty (A)

Whilst not as fearsome as their early 2000s vintage, Galatasaray usually represent a tough opponent in Europe, even on their travels – they won at Old Trafford two years ago, albeit with considerable help from Andre Onana. They also boast one of the world’s most fearsome strikers in Victor Osimhen.

Football-wise, Liverpool would have nothing to fear from the aforementioned Kairat Almaty. Logistically, they’ll be a nightmare of an opponent for whoever is drawn to face them away – their location in the southeast of Kazakhstan is more than 7,000 kilometres (4,350 miles) from Merseyside. Imagine having to come back from that trip, straight into a visit to Manchester City in November…