The primary target for Manchester United in Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge was to return to the Champions League.
The Red Devils have historically belonged on the biggest stage and despite not winning the Europa League last season, there is a feeling the team is now good enough to mix it beyond the group stage of the Champions League.
Man Utd ended up finishing third in the Premier League, beating Newcastle to that position after a tight battle between the two clubs.
Teams that finish third are rarely handed a doddle of a Champions League group, as Manchester City may expect in Pot 1. Not all of the pots have been finalised yet as there are qualifying rounds still to be completed, and then historical rankings to apply to the teams that qualify.
Despite that, Man Utd fans can already start designing a very probable outcome from the Champions League group stage draw.
Thanks to their Premier League position and their historical standing in the Champions League, Manchester United will be in Pot 2 for the group stage draw. It’s an incredibly strong range of teams which means there will be more huge games in the group stage.
Given Man City won both the Premier League and the Champions League, they had two Pot 1 places. That puts Feyenoord from the Eredivisie into Pot 1 rather than two and Arsenal in Pot 2.
2023/24 Champions League pot 2
|
Team |
League |
UEFA coefficient |
|---|---|---|
|
Real Madrid |
La Liga |
121,000 |
|
Man Utd |
Premier League |
104,000 |
|
Inter |
Serie A |
96,000 |
|
Borussia Dortmund |
Bundesliga |
86,000 |
|
Atletico Madrid |
La Liga |
85,000 |
|
RB Leipzig |
Bundesliga |
84,000 |
|
Porto |
Primeira Liga |
81,000 |
|
Arsenal |
Premier League |
76,000 |
|
Team |
League |
Pot |
UEFA coefficient |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sevilla |
La Liga |
1 |
91,000 |
|
Barcelona |
La Liga |
1 |
98,000 |
|
Napoli |
Serie A |
1 |
81,000 |
|
Bayern Munich |
Bundesliga |
1 |
136,000 |
|
PSG |
Ligue 1 |
1 |
112,000 |
|
Benfica |
Primeira Liga |
1 |
82,000 |
|
Feyenoord |
Eredivisie |
1 |
51,000 |
|
Shakhtar Donetsk |
Ukrainian Premier League |
3 |
63,000 |
|
Red Bull Salzburg |
Austrian Bundesliga |
3 |
59,000 |
|
Milan |
Serie A |
3 |
50,000 |
|
Lazio |
Serie A |
3 |
42,000 |
|
Red Star Belgrade |
Serbian SuperLiga |
3 |
42,000 |
|
Real Sociedad |
La Liga |
3 or 4 |
33,000 |
|
Celtic |
Scottish Premiership |
3 or 4 |
31,000 |
|
6 qualifiers |
N/A |
3 or 4 |
N/A |
|
Union Berlin |
Bundesliga |
4 |
17,000 |
|
Lens |
Ligue 1 |
4 |
12,232 |
The first thing many fans of a Pot 2 side will look for is the perceived easiest side in Pot 1. There will always be a couple of teams that fans of the biggest sides in Pot 2 would like to be drawn against. Invariably, this is the Portuguese or Dutch champions, or occasionally the Italian title winners. The Europa League holders can occasionally be favourable too.
This season is no different, and Manchester United fans will likely be eyeing up any of Benfica, Feyenoord and Napoli as more favoured opponents. Luciano Spalletti has left the Serie A champions with Rudi Garcia surprisingly named as his replacement. They could still lose both Kim Min-jae and Victor Osimhen too.
You could also include Sevilla in that list, but Man Utd fans are sick of the Andalusian side and would likely want to avoid them completely.
The final two pots for the Champions League have not yet been finalised which means Man Utd fans cannot definitively say what their ideal 2023/24 Champions League group would look like. What is clear is that there are some really good teams further down in the rankings than United.
There are five teams that are currently confirmed to be in Pot 3; Shakhtar Donetsk, RB Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, and Red Star Belgrade. The latter is the team that you would choose to face at this stage, partly for the prospect of a trip to Belgrade.
The following teams could end up in either Pot 3 or Pot 4, with the qualifiers set to determine that; Newcastle, Celtic and Real Sociedad. Man Utd cannot face Newcastle anyway and they may not like the idea of playing Real Sociedad again after their meetings in the Europa League last season.
The confirmed Pot 4 sides at the moment are Lens and Union Berlin, both fascinating clubs and stories that would represent a great trip.
