FC Barcelona, like other elite European clubs, will be participating in a completely new and different UEFA Champions League this season. Under this new format, the old group stage system will no longer be in place and will be replaced by a single league system in which 36 teams in total will compete.
Every team will play eight matches, and will no longer play twice against one opponent. Half of these eight matches will be played at home and half away. These eight opponents will be determined by four seeding pots, and each team will be drawn against 2 other teams from each of the four pots.
The final qualifying round for the competition has just concluded, with Dinamo Zagreb, Red Star, Lille, and Slovan Bratislava the latest teams to ensure their participation in this revamped competition.
Thus, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, the four pots have now been defined. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both in the first pot, while Atletico Madrid are in the second, and Girona are in the fourth.
The full pots for the league phase draw are as follows:
Pot 1: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and FC Barcelona.
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge, AC Milan, and Shakhtar.
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting de Portugal, PSV, Celtic, Salzburg, Young Boys, Dinamo Zagreb, Lille, and Red Star.
Pot 4: Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Brest, Sparta Prague, and Slovan Bratislava
FC Barcelona, like other participating teams, will get two opponents from each of the pots. Thus, there can be some very enticing matchups in the offing, but as no two teams from the same country can be drawn against one another, the Blaugranes cannot face Real Madrid, Atletico, or Girona in the league phase.
