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Tottenham's Best & Worst Case Scenarios Ahead of 2019/20 Champions League Draw
Tottenham Hotspur will discover their group stage opponents for the 2019/20 Champions League when the draw takes place on Thursday.
The Lilywhites fell to a 2-0 defeat in the final last June, as Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi scored to secure Liverpool's sixth European Cup. It was a remarkable journey to the showdown in Madrid, with Spurs dismissing some of the most feared sides the continent has to offer.
Here's who they'll want to face as another adventure gets underway, as well as teams they'd rather avoid.
Pot 1
To make it into Pot 1, a club has to have won either their domestic league the previous season, or one of the Europa and Champions League.
That's how Chelsea sealed their place amongst the top seeds, meaning the Blues will likely avoid an early meeting with one of the favourites. Spurs haven't been quite so fortunate.
Mauricio Pochettino would surely be happy drawing Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg - despite the long trek there - but the odds of doing so are decidedly short.
The Argentine will probably have to devise a strategy for overcoming a European powerhouse, though all other English sides are off the cards. A rematch with Barcelona, who were in their group last year, would represent an enormous challenge for an out-of-sorts Tottenham squad.
Pot 1 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
|---|---|
Liverpool (CL) | 91.000 |
Barcelona | 138.000 |
Bayern Munich | 128.000 |
Juventus | 124.000 |
Manchester City | 106.000 |
Paris Saint-Germain | 103.000 |
Zenit St Petersburg | 72.000 |
Chelsea (EL) | 87.000 |
Best Case Draw: Zenit St Petersburg
Worst Case Draw: Barcelona
Pot 2
It may be called Pot 2, but there are several illustrious names included in it. Real Madrid have lifted the Champions League four times in the previous six campaigns and Borussia Dortmund - and Jadon Sancho in particular - have been electric at the start of this one.
Atletico Madrid are an equally intimidating prospect, whilst Napoli are hardly going to keel over. Nevertheless, the Lillywhites cannot be put in the same pool as any of them, a sizeable benefit given the talent in this pot.
Pot 2 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
|---|---|
Real Madrid | 146.000 |
Atletico Madrid | 127.000 |
Borussia Dortmund | 85.000 |
Napoli | 80.000 |
Shakhtar Donetsk | 80.000 |
Tottenham Hotspur | 78.000 |
Ajax | 70.500 |
Benfica | 68.000 |
Best Case Draw: N/A
Worst Case Draw: N/A
Pot 3
As was the case with the previous pot, the teams in number three should not be taken lightly. Inter began their domestic campaign with a bang and look an impressive unit under Antonio Conte; they are definitely the team to avoid.
However, Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen are a dangerous side, as are Red Bull Salzburg, who have been crowned as champions of Austria in each of the last six campaigns.
Lyon are the highest ranked club in the pot and have a number of exciting prospects in their lineup.
Spurs would be pleased to have Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb in their group. The men from the capital have qualified for the knockout rounds on just one occasion this century and have grown used to being the whipping boys in the pools.
Pot 3 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
|---|---|
Lyon | 61.500 |
Bayer Leverkusen | 61.000 |
Red Bull Salzburg | 54.500 |
Olympiacos | 44.000 |
Club Brugge | 39.500 |
Valencia | 37.000 |
Inter | 31.000 |
Dinamo Zagreb | 29.500 |
Best Case Draw: Dinamo Zagreb
Worst Case Draw: Inter
Pot 4
There's a tendency to think a team from Pot 4 will be an easy six points for the likes of Tottenham. That is a poor attitude to have, with Liverpool losing 2-0 in their away trip to fourth-seed side Red Star Belgrade last term.
The Serbs are certainly one Pochettino won't want to. It's an energy-sapping journey to fly to Belgrade and the noise in the Rajko Mitic Stadium is deafening.
Making their debut in the Champions League, Atalanta have little European pedigree, yet they will give anyone a stiff challenge having looked superb in 2018/19.
RB Leipzig are likewise short on experience in continental competitions, whilst still offering a threat to any club that draws them. In fact, that can be said about most of those in this pot, though Slavia Prague appear to be Tottenham's best bet.
The Czechs put up a reasonable fight against Chelsea in the Europa League in March, but it was always clear that they lacked the quality to defeat the Premier League giants. The same should be true if they meet the Lilywhites this autumn.
Pot 4 | UEFA Club Coefficient |
|---|---|
Lokomotiv Moscow | 28.500 |
Genk | 25.000 |
Galatasaray | 22.500 |
RB Leipzig | 22.000 |
Slavia Prague | 21.500 |
Red Star Belgrade | 16.750 |
Atalanta | 14.945 |
Lille | 11.699 |
Best Case Draw: Slavia Prague
Worst Case Draw: Red Star Belgrade
Once the draw is made, group stage fixtures will begin on 17/18 September and conclude 11 weeks later on 10/11 December, followed by the knockout draw soon after.
