Like every team that will enter the league phase of the Champions League, there is the potential of a nightmare draw for Manchester City when it is made.
All 36 teams that qualify will find out their eight opponents when the draw takes place at 6pm BST in Monaco on Thursday.
Man City have been placed in pot 1, but that does not exempt them from a tough draw, with the only two rules being that the Manchester club cannot face another Premier League club, nor two teams from the same country.
Ahead of the draw on Thursday, here is the nightmare outcome for Man City that would make their path to the next round of the competition difficult.
Pep Guardiola with the Champions League trophy.
Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images
Toughest Champions League draw for Manchester City
The Swiss model was introduced for last season’s Champions League, and it was a format Man City struggled with as they failed to qualify in the top eight of the table.
As a result, Pep Guardiola’s men were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Knockout phase play-offs, which is an outcome the Manchester club will want to avoid this time around.
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Man City need to face two teams from each of the four pots, and there is one outcome that throws up some tough fixtures, and even some repeats of last season’s campaign.
The toughest eight games the Premier League giants could face are PSG, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Sporting CP, PSV Eindhoven, Galatasaray, and Union Saint-Gilloise.
Man City lost to both PSG and Juventus in the league phase during the previous campaign, which would not be a good sign heading into the upcoming Champions League season.
Guardiola would like to avoid the majority of these teams, but there is also a world where the Manchester club get an easy draw.
The easiest Champions League draw Man City could get
If luck is on Man City’s side, the easiest eight opponents Man City could face during the league phase of the Champions League would be Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Atalanta, Villarreal, Slavia Prague, Bodø/Glimt, Pafos and Kairat.
Guardiola’s men would fancy their chances of finishing in the top eight places of the table if this draw were produced, with PSG and Villarreal being the trickiest opponents the Premier League giants would face.
In reality, the eight games Man City will play will be a mixture of both, as every game in the Champions League brings some degree of difficulty.