Potential Champions League Opponents for Real Madrid

Real Madrid already know their potential opponents in the upcoming Champions League

Real Madrid are focused on starting the season in the best possible way and have been working hard in these first few months to be able to hold firm for the rest of the year. To do so, Carlo Ancelotti’s side must beat UD Las Palmas next Thursday.

However, it’s inevitable to think about the return of the Champions League. Los Blancos are already waiting to see who their next opponents will be in the new format implemented by UEFA. The European competition will have several changes this season and on this occasion, there will be no group stage, but a general classification where they will have to play eight matches (four at the Santiago Bernabéu and another four away from home).

The big hitters in Pot 1 and Pot 2

Real Madrid already know who their first two opponents could be in this new edition and it will be one of these eight teams. Pot 1 has been defined by UEFA and Carlo Ancelotti’s side could face three teams from the Bundesliga (Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig), two teams from the Premier League (Manchester City, Liverpool), one from Serie A (Inter Milan) and one from Ligue 1 (Paris Saint-Germain).

In addition, it has also been revealed who their other two opponents from Pot 2 could be. In this case, there will be three from Serie A (Atalanta, Milan, Juventus), one from the Bundesliga (Bayer Leverkusen), one from Portugal (SL Benfica), one from the Premier League (Arsenal), one from Belgium (Club Brugge) and one from Ukraine (Shakhtar).

Potential opponents from Pot 3 and Pot 4

Once the preliminary rounds have finished, Pot 3 and 4 have been defined and Real Madrid already know their potential opponents. In the first one are Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven, Celtic, RB Salzburg and Young Boys.

Finally, in Pot 4, Real Madrid could face one of these teams: AS Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest and Sparta Prague.

It is very important to emphasize that in the group stage, teams from the same country cannot face each other, except in exceptional circumstances. This rules out FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Girona CF as potential opponents in this phase. In case of force majeure, a single match between teams from the same country could be allowed, but this is not usual.

Also, teams cannot face each other more than twice in the same competition, that is, Real Madrid cannot face more than two teams from the Premier League. The Merengues will know their opponents on August 29th, the day of the draw.

🚨 2 de los 8 rivales que tendrá el Real Madrid en la primera fase de la Champions saldrán del Bombo 1 (los cocos). Y uno no puede ser el Barça porque es español.

3 alemanes, 2 ingleses y un francés.@defcentral pic.twitter.com/r3Sq1n84kP

— Jose Padilla (@JosePadi_) August 27, 2024