Arsenal And Man United’s Possible Champions League Group Stage Opponents Ahead of Draw

• The 2023/2024 Champions League group stage draw will be conducted on August 31
• A total of 26 teams have already confirmed their spots, with 6 more up for grabs
• Arsenal and Manchester United could both get tough draws, given that they are in Pot 2

Arsenal and Manchester United's fans can start predicting who they will face in the group stages as they mark their return to the Champions League.

The Gunners are back after six years, while United will be making the comeback after a one-year hiatus. Arsenal almost won the Premier League last season after a brilliant run but collapsed towards the end to finish second behind eventual treble winners Manchester City.

They will be joined by Manchester United and Newcastle as the other English teams in the Champions League group stage draw set to take place on August 31.

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There will be a few surprise packages like RC Lens (France), Real Sociedad (Spain) and Union Berlin (Germany), who will join the usual suspects like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, who recently broke the bank to land one of the best strikers in Europe.

How the group stage works

The group stage path is becoming clearer, with only six teams yet to confirm their places through the playoffs. Winners of the games will join the Champions League group stage draw, while losers will drop to the Champions League.

It will be the last season where the competition will use 32 teams of eight groups before paving way for the league format beginning next year. The eight groups will be drawn from four pots depending on a team's coefficient. The reigning champions, Europa League winners and winners of the leagues in the top eight leagues are placed in Pot 1.

No team from the same pot can be drawn together and no team from the same country can be drawn into the same group, plus any other rule that UEFA officials will deem necessary before the start of the draw as explained on UEFA's website.

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2023/2024 Champions League pots as it stands

Pot 1: Manchester City, Napoli, Bayern Munich, PSG, Sevilla, Benfica, Feyenoord, Barcelona

Pot 2: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, Porto, Leipzig, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund

Pot 3: RB Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, Crvena Zvedza, Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic, Real Sociedad, (one more team TBC)

Pot 4: Newcastle United, Union Berlin, Lens, five more teams TBC

*Teams in bold could drop to Pot 4 or rise to Pot 3, depending on who wins the playoff rounds.

Arsenal's and Manchester United's possible opponents

Arsenal and Manchester United cannot play Manchester City but could have a date with one of PSG, Bayern Munich, Barcelona or any other Pot 1 team.

They will also avoid a potential meet-up with Pot 2 giants like Real Madrid, as teams from the same pot cannot be drawn together.

Champions League referee investigated

Sports Brief previously reported that UEFA investigated referee Szymon Marciniak after he was spotted talking to a far-right politician.

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Marciniak, who officiated the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10, faced being stood down pending the results of the investigation.

The investigation was, however, completed, and Marciniak was cleared to officiate the Champions League blockbuster, which Manchester City won.