Eight games that could shatter the Champions League dream

Manchester United are placed in pot 2, but that offers little protection. In the worst case, Real Madrid, PSG, Borussia Dortmund await – and an icy evening at Aspmyra.

United will face eight different teams in the Champions League league phase: two from each pot, with one home and one away game against teams from each pot.

They cannot face English clubs and a maximum of two opponents can come from the same nation. That excludes Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa – but the nightmare doesn’t stop there.

From pot 1, PSG and Real Madrid are the worst options. PSG have won the Champions League two years in a row, while an away game at the Santiago Bernabéu is about as difficult as it gets.

In pot 2, Borussia Dortmund stands out. Signal Iduna Park, over 80,000 spectators and a team that finished second in the Bundesliga is bad news. Portuguese champions Porto are the other opponent United should preferably avoid.

Pot 3 contains Napoli, RB Leipzig and Bodø/Glimt. From a sporting point of view, Napoli and Leipzig are the worst, but Bodø/Glimt away could be the most unpleasant match: artificial turf, cold, high tempo and a team that just crushed NEC Nijmegen 6-1 on aggregate.

Pot 4 also hides problems. Lens finished second in France, while Como finished fourth in Serie A.

The nightmare draw with Bodø/Glimt

That means away games at the Santiago Bernabéu, Signal Iduna Park, Aspmyra and a boiling Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

At Old Trafford, reigning Champions League champions PSG, Portuguese champions Porto, Napoli and a Como team that shocked Italian football last season await.

If we only consider sporting quality, the draw will be even worse if RB Leipzig replaces Bodø/Glimt.

Manchester United can thus get eight games without a single respite. Pot 2 sounds safe. It is definitely not.

There are eight separate opportunities to get into trouble!