Barcelona’s dream and nightmare Champions League draws

The Champions League hasn’t been kind to Barcelona in recent seasons.

The Spanish side have exited the competition at the group stages during the last two terms, struggling on both occasions to compete with Bayern Munich, as well as Inter last season and Benfica the campaign before.

Of course, the Bundesliga champions also humiliated Barcelona during the 2019/20 campaign, dismantling La Blaugrana 8-2 in that infamous clash.

The year before that it was the nightmare trip to Anfield where Barcelona lost 4-0 despite holding a 3-0 aggregate lead from the first leg of the semi-final and the season prior to that was the disastrous 3-0 quarter-final second leg defeat at Roma.

All in all, it would be understandable if Barca thought their Champions League curse would never come to an end, but this year offers renewed hope as they enter the competition as La Liga champions.

Xavi’s side sit in Pot 1 prior to the draw on Thursday 31 August, but that doesn’t guarantee them an easy group with some menacing sides sitting below them in the second, third and fourth pots.

Xavi will have his fingers crossed that this year’s group stage draw is a little kinder to Barcelona. At the very least, they know they will avoid their recent nemesis Bayern Munich.

However, there are some incredible teams in Pot 2 including the likes of Manchester United and last season’s finalists Inter. On paper, the best Xavi can hope for from this pot is Portuguese side Porto.

Porto finished second in the Primeira Liga last season, but only two points off Pot 2 side Benfica. Sergio Conceicao’s side are regulars in the Champions League, but haven’t made it past the quarter-final since they won the trophy in 2003/04 under Jose Mourinho.

While not all teams in Pot 3 or 4 are known as of yet with the final qualifying matches yet to be completed, there are still some favourable opponents for La Blaugrana.

From Pot 3, Barcelona will likely be hoping for Red Star Belgrade, a team they haven’t faced since 1996 but who realistically pose little threat to them advancing past the group stage.

From Pot 4, Celtic would probably be the easiest clash at present. The Hoops fought admirably under Ange Postecoglou in the group stage last year but were ultimately outclassed by the likes of Real Madrid and RB Leipzig. Progression looks an even slimmer possibility this year under the returning Brendan Rodgers.

Barcelona’s dream group

Luckily for Barcelona, arguably the toughest team in Pot 2 is Real Madrid. The two sides are unable to meet in the same group as they are both Spanish, meaning a Clasico clash will have to wait for later in the competition.

While they will also steer clear of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid for the same reason, there is still the possibility of facing Manchester United, Inter, Borussia Dortmund or RB Leipzig from Pot 2.

However, the toughest draw would probably be last season’s Premier League runners-up Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side don’t have a great deal of Champions League experience but do have an abundance of quality across the pitch.

Manchester United would also offer a mammoth encounter in the group stage, while last season’s Champions League finalists Inter – who qualified ahead of Barca in last season’s group stages – would also provide an incredibly tough test.

There are also plenty of high-calibre opponents in Pot 3, but the toughest is probably AC Milan. The Rossoneri reached the semi-final of the competition last season and will be keen to go a step further this year.

While Newcastle arguably pose the biggest threat in Pot 4, Barcelona wouldn’t be able to draw them and Arsenal in the same group. As a result, it would be Urs Fischer’s stubborn Union Berlin that would be the next toughest test, having already started this season’s Bundesliga campaign with successive 4-1 victories.

Barcelona’s nightmare group

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