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Champions League group stage draw: Who could Leicester, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Celtic face?

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 07:  Captain Wes Morgan and manager Claudio Ranieri of Leicester City lift the Premier League Trophy after the Barclays Premier Le
Image: Leicester's Premier League win means they are in pot one

We look at who Leicester, Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City and Celtic could face in the Champions League group stage draw.

Manchester City beat Steaua Bucharest 6-0 on aggregate in their play-off tie to join fellow Premier League sides Leicester, Arsenal and Tottenham in the competition proper, while Celtic edged past Hapoel Be'er-Sheva 5-4 on aggregate on Tuesday to reach the group stage for the first time in three years.

When's the Champions League draw?
When's the Champions League draw?

Find out more details about Thursday's group stage draw

Ahead of Thursday's 5pm draw, which you can follow on Sky Sports News HQ or on Sky Sports' digital platforms, we suggest best and worst case scenarios for the five British teams…

Cristiano Ronaldo non è ancora sazio: vuole la prossima Champions League (Getty)
Image: The Champions League group stage draw takes place on Thursday

Who's in which pot?

There will be 32 names in the draw - 22 teams that qualified directly for the group stage and 10 sides that progressed from the play-offs.

The group stage kicks off on September 13 and runs until December 7.

Pot 1: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Leicester, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, PSG, CSKA Moscow

Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Sevilla, Porto, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, Man City

Also See:

Pot 3: Tottenham, Dynamo Kiev, Lyon, PSV, Sporting, Club Brugge, Borussia Monchengladbach, Basel

Pot 4: Monaco, Besiktas, Legia Warsaw, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Ludogorets, Copenhagen, Rostov

Leicester City

Pot one is made up of the holders Real Madrid, plus the champions of the top-seven ranked nations at the end of the 2015/16 season.

It means Leicester City, as Premier League winners, join the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus in the top pot.

Ranieri and Leicester celebrated their title success on Monday
Image: Claudio Ranieri will be hoping for a kind Champions League draw on Thursday

No team can play a club from their own country, so Leicester cannot be drawn against Arsenal, Manchester City or Tottenham.

But there's plenty of quality elsewhere, with Atletico Madrid, Basel and Celtic a possible nightmare scenario for Claudio Ranieri's side in their debut campaign.

A best-case draw for Leicester in turns of UEFA's co-efficient is Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge and Copenhagen.

Leicester last found themselves in Europe in 2000, when they went out in the first round of the UEFA Cup to Red Star Belgrade. In fact, their last European goal was scored by club legend Muzzy Izzet.

Leicester scenarios

Best case Worst case
Bayer Leverkusen Atletico Madrid
Club Brugge Basel
Copenhagen Celtic

Arsenal

Arsenal cannot face Leicester from pot one, but they will be hoping to avoid Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and PSG.

Should they draw Bayern then it will be the second successive season Arsene Wenger's side have faced the Bundesliga champions in the group stage.

The best-case scenario from the top pot sees them drawn out of the hat alongside Benfica or CSKA Moscow.

Further down the draw, a meeting with Lyon from pot three would throw up the prospect of facing transfer target Alexandre Lacazette.

Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil show their dejection
Image: Arsenal were knocked out by Barcelona last year and could draw them in the group stage

Celtic are also possible opponents, as are Wenger's former club Monaco - should they not have already drawn Lyon - while Granit Xhaka could face former club Borussia Monchengladbach, who are in pot three.

If Arsenal face Barcelona, it will be a return to the club who sent them out in the round of 16 last season. The defeat meant it was the sixth successive campaign the Gunners were knocked out at that stage of the competition. 

The Gunners have, however, progressed out of the initial group stage for the past 16 years and will be favoured to get out of the group no matter who they draw in Monaco.

Arsenal scenarios

Best case Worst case
CSKA Moscow Barcelona
Borussia Monchengladbach Basel
Rostov Celtic

Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino's side will be hoping to see Benfica or CSKA Moscow from pot one, otherwise they are facing one of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain.

Real Madrid knocked Spurs out of the Champions League the last time they featured in the competition, beating them 5-0 on aggregate in the 2010/11 quarter-final.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund celebrates his second goal
Image: Spurs met Dortmund in the Europa League and now they could square up in the Champions League

Tottenham could also face Borussia Dortmund for the second time in as many seasons, having crashed out of the Europa League 5-1 on aggregate to the German side earlier this year.

A potential worst-case scenario for Spurs would see them draw Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco.

Tottenham scenarios

Best case Worst case
CSKA Moscow Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen Borussia Dortmund
Ludogorets Celtic

Man City

Pep Guardiola could face one of his former sides, with Bayern Munich and Barcelona potential pot one opponents.

Real Madrid, who knocked out City in the semi-final last season, and Dynamo Kiev, who lost to City in the last-16, are also possible foes. The Ukrainian side will be drawn from pot three.

Fabian Delph (R) celebrates with Nolito after scoring the opening goal
Image: Fabian Delph scored on Wednesday to secure City's place in the draw

City's win on Wednesday night confirmed their place in pot two for Thursday's draw, but they will be hoping to avoid the likes of Lyon when the balls are pulled out in Monaco.

Man City scenarios

Best case Worst case
CSKA Moscow Barcelona
Borussia Monchengladbach FC Basel
Copenhagen Celtic

Celtic

Celtic had a scare against Hapoel Be'er Sheva on Tuesday night, losing 2-0 and squeezing through 5-4 on aggregate.

They are the highest-ranked team in pot four, but missed out on a more favourable draw and would look to have a tough task getting through the group stages.

Celtic scenarios

Best case Worst case
CSKA Moscow Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen Borussia Dortmund
Basel Tottenham

Brendan Rodgers' side will have to face one of Leicester, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, Juventus, Benfica or CSKA Moscow from pot one. 

Follow the Champions League draw on Thursday from 5pm BST with SSNHQ or skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps.

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