Real Madrid is preparing to begin defending its Champions League title and the first step is to find out who its eight rivals are for the new league phase of the competition.
Real will find out who they will face in the Champions League this season during the draw on Thursday 29 August, but even before that, it's possible to work out their possible opponents based on the composition of each of the pots and with it, the group of possible rivals for Los Blancos.
The Sporting News has all the details on who Real could face ahead of the draw being made.
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Real Madrid's possible rivals in the 2024/25 Champions League
Real will face a tough challenge if they are to defend their Champions League title this season.
The new Champions League format means that each team will face eight opponents during the league phase. These will be determined by a draw, with two matches per pot for each club.
That is, Real Madrid will face two teams from the same pot 1, two from pot 2, two from pot 3 and two from pot 4.
It is worth remembering that the draw will also determine which of the eight games will be at home (4) and which will be away (4).
Of note ahead of the draw being made is that teams cannot face rivals from their own country, so Real will not face — at least at this stage — Barcelona, Atletico Madrid or Girona. In addition, they will not be able to face more than two rivals from the same country.
With that in mind, these are Real Madrid's possible rivals in the league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | Bayer Leverkusen | Feyenoord | Monaco |
| Borussia Dortmund | Atalanta | Sporting CP | Aston Villa |
| Inter | Juventus | PSV Eindhoven | Bologna |
| Bayern Munich | Benfica | Celtic | Stuttgart |
| PSG | Arsenal | Salzburg | Sturm Graz |
| RB Leipzig | Club Brugge | Young Boys | Brest |
| Liverpool | Shakhtar Donetsk | Sparta Prague | |
| Milan |
Four teams from the qualifying phase remain to be added, who will go to pot 3 or pot 4 according to their UEFA coefficient.