Assessing Best & Worst Case Scenarios for the 4 Spanish Clubs Ahead of Champions League Group Draw

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia are the four Spanish clubs aiming for Champions League glory this season and will learn their first round

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia are the four Spanish clubs aiming for Champions League glory this season and will learn their first round fate when the 2018/19 group stage draw is made in Monaco on Thursday evening.

Barça take their place in pot as last season's La Liga champions, but they joined among the top seeds by Real, as Champions League holders, and Atletico, as Europa League holders.

On their first return to the group stage since 2015/16, Valencia are in pot three.

Valencia

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Best: Lokomotiv Moscow, Benfica, Valencia, AEK Athens

To reach the knockout rounds Valencia will most likely have to finish above the team they are drawn with from pot two, with Benfica patchy in Europe to say the least in recent seasons.

Worst: Juventus, Tottenham Hotspur, Valencia, Hoffenheim

Unable to draw their three fellow La Liga compatriots from pot one, Los Che will be keen to avoid a Juventus side now featuring Cristiano Ronaldo. Tottenham cannot be underestimated.

Atletico Madrid

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Best:Atletico Madrid, Benfica, CSKA Moscow, Young Boys

Atletico have won away games in Russia in Europe in each of the last two seasons, suggesting that they are better placed than most to cope with drawing and CSKA and Ukraine's Shakhtar.

Worst:Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Lyon, Inter

A possible group that sees Atletico pitted against Tottenham, Lyon and Inter looks incredibly open, with any of the four talented sides seemingly capable of qualifying for the next round.

Barcelona

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Best:Barcelona, Manchester United, Ajax, Club Brugge

Given the way that Lionel Messi has destroyed English clubs in the past and how Manchester United are in defensive disarray, facing them at this time could prove very agreeable.

Worst:Barcelona, Roma, Liverpool, Galatasaray

Roma managed to pull off an unthinkable quarter final comeback against Barça last year, while Liverpool and Galatasaray will view the Catalans as an attainable scalp.

Real Madrid

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Best:Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, PSV Eindhoven, Young Boys

Real won home and away against Dortmund last season, with the German club also since selling Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored all three of the goals Real conceded.

Worst:Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Lyon, Inter

Tottenham took four points off Real in the group stage last season, two games that would surely give Mauricio Pochettino's team confidence that they could do it again this time around.