Champions League draw simulated as Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs get PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham fans are counting down the hours until Thursday evening's Champions League draw. The London trio will all discover their opponents in the league phase when the draw gets underway at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco at 5pm.

It is Chelsea and Tottenham's first appearance in Europe's premier competition since UEFA opted to go with a new format at the start of last campaign. However, they will certainly be no strangers to the setup as it was also applied in the Europa League and Conference League in 2024/25.

As the Champions League now operates with a 36-team league table, all clubs taking part will face eight fixtures in the league phase part of the competition. The 36 teams have been split into four pots of nine and they will each be paired with two teams from each pot to determine their eight fixtures.

When a club is paired with two teams from a pot, one game will be at home and the other will be away. Teams from the same country cannot be drawn against each other and a club cannot face more than two opponents from the same association.

Ahead of this evening's draw, we have decided to run a simulation to see who Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will play against in the league phase. You can try the simulation for yourself by clicking here.

Chelsea

Pot 1: Real Madrid (H), Barcelona (A)

Pot 2: Eintracht Frankfurt (H), Juventus (A)

Pot 3: Ajax (H), Olympiacos (A)

Pot 4: Monaco (H), Pafos (A)

In our simulation, Chelsea have been handed two incredibly tough ties from Pot 1 as they host Real Madrid and then travel to Barcelona. The Blues will certainly fancy their chances against the Spanish giants but they are two of the hardest teams they could have been paired against in the top pot.

Juventus away will be another tough fixture but Chelsea will be expected to get maximum points at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Ajax at home and Olympiacos away are the picks from Pot 3, with Monaco at home and Pafos away from Pot 4.

Arsenal

Pot 1: Bayern Munich (H), PSG (A)

Pot 2: Juventus (H), Bayer Leverkusen (A)

Pot 3: Napoli (H), Bodo/Glimt (A)

Pot 4: Monaco (H), Athletic Club (A)

A repeat of last season's semi-final against PSG is on the cards for Arsenal in our simulation. The Gunners have also been paired against Bayern Munich, who they were eliminated by at the quarter-final stage in the 2023/24 edition of the Champions League.

Two more big games follow against Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen, with a home encounter against Antonio Conte's Napoli a tough challenge for Mikel Arteta's side. Bodo/Glimt away may not be so straightforward and the same also applies to an away day at Athletic Club as Arteta returns to the Basque Country.

Tottenham

Pot 1: Bayern Munich (H), Barcelona (A)

Pot 2: Eintracht Frankfurt (H), Club Brugge (A)

Pot 3: Marseille (H), Bodo/Glimt (A)

Pot 4: Kairat (H), Pafos (A)

Our simulation has paired Tottenham with Bayern Munich once again. The sides last met in a pre-season friendly at the start of the month as the Bundesliga club recorded a comfortable 4-0 win.

The second team from Pot 1 for Tottenham is Barcelona, with the game to be played in Spain. There are a couple more reunions on the cards for Spurs as they come up against last season's Europa League opponents Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt.

Games at Club Brugge and home against Marseille could be awkward encounters for Thomas Frank's men. Kairat and Pafos from Pot 4 are potential banana skins Tottenham will want to avoid at all costs.

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