Champions League draw: best and worst league phase scenarios for French clubs | OneFootball

The Champions League league phase draw takes place in Monaco at 18:00 on Thursday, with PSG, Lens and Lille to discover eight opponents. According to L'Équipe, the most daunting and most favourable scenarios on paper have been mapped out.

French clubs cannot be drawn against each other, and no side can face more than two opponents from the same league in this phase. The 36 teams are split into four pots of nine, with two opponents coming from each pot.

The toughest draw, on paper, would pair them with Bayern Munich and Arsenal from Pot one, AS Roma and Aston Villa from Pot two, Villarreal and Bodø/Glimt from Pot three, plus Stuttgart and Como from Pot four.

That would mean meeting Arsenal, last season's Champions League finalists, and Bayern, who played a memorable semi-final against PSG last season. It also includes 2026 Europa League winners Aston Villa and Bodø/Glimt, the 2025-26 surprise who reached the last 16 after eliminating Inter.

The most favourable draw would feature Manchester City and Atlético Madrid from Pot one, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven from Pot two, Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk from Pot three, plus Sabah FC and Viking FK from Pot four. Even then, the calibre remains high, though the overall level appears less daunting.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”