With the end of the Champions League final last Saturday, the 2022-23 season is over for all of the best European leagues. This means that a new campaign is set to start very soon, with UEFA competitions kicking off this month already. But those among the best, those that will play in the Champions League group stages, are going to start their European travels in September.
Before then, the entirety of the Champions League qualifiers are to be played and with Man United finishing third in the Premier League in the recently ended campaign, this means Erik Ten Hag’s side is already among the 32 teams which will play in the Champions League proper.
In fact, Man United already know many of their potential rivals, with the end of the Champions League final making sure Inter Milan are not in Pot 1, due to losing to Man City. So here is what we currently know.
In Pot 1 are the champions of top seven European leagues, with Man City also being the holders of the competition, plus Sevilla, who are the Europa League winners once again. Besides City and Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Feyenoord are all in Pot 1. These are the teams Man United can get on the group stage draw.
In Pot 2 are Man United themselves and we already know all of the remaining seven sides which will accompany the Red Devils in it. The teams Man United will not able to face in the group stages of the Champions League are Real Madrid, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Porto and Arsenal.
In Pot 3 will also be eight teams, but as of now, we know five teams which will certainly be in that pot. Those teams are Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, Milan, Lazio and Red Star Belgrade. The likes of Real Sociedad, Celtic and Newcastle United are also part of the Champions League next season, but it remains to be seen whether they will be in Pot 3 or Pot 4. Two teams certain to be in Pot 4 are debutants Union Berlind and French outfit Lens. Remaining six teams will come through the qualifiers and they will all be in either Pot 3 or Pot 4.
Despite not knowing all the teams set to feature in the UEFA Champions League group stages next season, we can clearly see Man United could get opponents of varying strengths and qualities. In one scenario, United could be in a group with Bayern Munich, Milan and Union Berlin, or, say, Barcelona, Lazio and Lens.
But then, there are also much better scenarios, putting United potentially in a group with Feyenoord, Red Star and someone from the qualifiers, such as Sparta Prague, AEK Athens, Dnipro or Panathinaikos. Whatever might be the case, Man United will be among favourites to reach the round of 16 in December and try to go deep into this competition. If the 2022-23 season taught us anything it is that the draw can make all the difference. Inter are the best example, reaching the Champions League final after facing Porto, Benfica and Milan in the knockout stages, compared to City’s games against Leipzig, Bayern and Real Madrid.