Champions League draw: Who can Borussia Dortmund face in the group stage?

Borussia Dortmund will find out their UEFA Champions League opponents when the group stage draw takes place later today at UEFA’s headquarters in Monaco.

Following yesterday’s playoff round, we now know the 32 teams that will be playing in the UEFA Champions League group stage this season. The draw is now set to take place and Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to avoid the European powerhouses in the first round. The Black and Yellows will be in pot two alongside Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Napoli, Roma, Porto, Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Lucien Favre’s men will be aiming to get out of the group stage, having failed to do so last season. Borussia Dortmund were placed in the group of death alongside Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur last year, and they finished third in their group after only managing to get two points.

Dortmund could be in for a tough group stage draw once again this season, with both pot one and pot three containing some of the best teams in Europe. Pot 1 contains the current champions from Europe’s biggest domestic leagues and the two sides with the highest UEFA coefficient. The likes of Real Madrid, Atlético, Barcelona, Bayern, Manchester City, Juventus, PSG and Lokomotiv Moscow make up pot one.

Meanwhile, pot three contains some seriously good teams that could cause Dortmund some serious problems. Liverpool, Schalke, Lyon, Monaco, Salzburg, CSKA Moscow, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia are all placed in the third pot. Pot four also contains some tricky sides which Dortmund will be hoping to avoid in the group stage. Viktoria Plzen, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Inter Milan, Hoffenheim, Young Boys, AEK Athens and Red Star Belgrade make up pot four.

Teams from the same nation cannot face each other in the group stage, meaning Borussia Dortmund will avoid Bayern Munich, Schalke and Hoffenheim. But the draw could make some interesting ties and it is very possible that Borussia Dortmund could be in the group of death once again. So let us take a look at the dream draw and the worst case scenario for the Black and Yellows.

Dream Draw

Lokomotiv Moscow, Ajax and Young Boys

The Russian champions are easily the weakest team in pot one and Dortmund will be hoping to wind up in their group. Group three contains some possibly tricky opponents but Dortmund will be happy to face Ajax. The Dutch side have some talented players but haven’t been at their best since the departure of Peter Bosz. And Dortmund should have no problems beating Swiss club Young Boys either.

Worst Case Scenario

Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan

Dortmund know all about Real Madrid, having been drawn against the 13 time UEFA Champions League winners in the group stage for two successive seasons. And Dortmund will be desperately hoping to avoid them this time around. In pot three, Liverpool are most definitely the team to avoid. Jurgen Klopp’s men reached the final last time around and have won all three of their games so far this season. While Inter Milan are arguably the worst possible opponent in pot four, having made some impressive signings in the summer.