LIGUE DES CHAMPIONS: LE MEILLEUR ET LE PIRE TIRAGE POUR LE PSG, L’OM ET MONACO
The Champions League draw will take place Thursday in Monaco, starting at 6 p.m., with the lineup now fully known. This provides ample opportunity to venture into predictions for PSG, OM, and Monaco's next opponents.
The 36 lucky winners of the 2025-2026 Champions League are now known after today's qualifiers by Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Benfica (Portugal), Bruges (Belgium), and Copenhagen (Denmark). These teams are champing at the bit to learn their European path, which will be determined Thursday in Monaco, starting at 6 p.m., with the draw for the league phase (to be followed live with commentary on the RMC Sport website). Like last year, when the new Champions League format was implemented, the 36 teams are divided into four pots , which are less important than in the past.
Each team will face eight opponents, with two opponents from each pot. The only restrictions are that teams cannot face a team from the same league, the number of opponents from the same league is limited to two, and each team will play one home and one away match against opponents from each pot. A ball will be drawn in turn. A computer will then randomly determine eight opponents, respecting these rules.
A format that makes the pre-draw discussions less intense. With each club facing two opponents from all the pots, the famous projections offering best and worst draws are identical for each French club. However, the exercise always whets the appetite of fans, eager to know what their team will do on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
A necessarily subjective projection on our part but which gives a possible serious group of death for PSG , OM or Monaco . In pot 1, we opt for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich knowing that Liverpool, Barça or even Manchester City could have been there. But our selection retains Bilbao and Newcastle in pot 4 or Tottenham in pot 3, impossible to have three teams from La Liga or the Premier League as opponents.
A rule that also reduces the adversity coming from pot 2, with Juve and Benfica in our selection, always very strong against French clubs in European Cups, to the detriment of Arsenal or Atlético due to this restriction preventing more than two clubs from the same championship as opponents for a team.
To add depth to this unenviable group, we've selected Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur and Italian champions Napoli from Pot 3. And to add a little spice, we've unearthed the Basques of Athletic Bilbao and Newcastle from Pot 4. A generous selection.
Of course, there's the optimistic version of the draw possibilities. In Pot 1, we chose Dortmund and Inter Milan, despite their finalist status last year. In Pot 2, our choice fell on Bruges, despite their 6-0 win against Glasgow Rangers, and Villarreal. In Pot 3, the French clubs would inherit Slavia Prague and Olympiacos in this 'ideal' configuration. Bodo/Glimt could have been mentioned, but the Norwegian club is still in the Europa League semi-finals, and a trip close to the Arctic Circle could quickly turn into a trap.
Finally, in pot 4, two newcomers caught our attention: the Cypriots of Pafos , David Luiz's new club. And Kairat Almaty. But it was the sporting aspect that took precedence in our thinking, because a trip more than 5,000 kilometers from France and only 300 kilometers from China, with a three-hour time difference, probably gives Luis Enrique, Roberto De Zerbi or even Adi Hütter cold sweats.
The best draw for PSG, OM and Monaco:
The worst draw for PSG, OM and Monaco:
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