In its inaugural Champions League run, Aston Villa, the Birmingham-based football squad, will be in the face-off against Celtic in what’s been touted as a ‘Battle of Britain’. Also, they’re set to revisit fragments of their glorious past with a face-off against Bayern Munich, recalling their triumphant European Cup win against the same team from 1982. This came to light at the draw held in Monte Carlo as part of the restructured 36-team contest.
Each of the 36 teams in the tournament will square off in one group stage, hosting and visiting four matches each. The eight top-scoring teams will have direct entries into the round of 16 while playoff rounds will determine the final eight spots.
The first team drawn from the lot by ex-Italy goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, was Manchester City. Cristiano Ronaldo was then called upon to push a large button, generating computer-assigned opponents. The team’s noteworthy clashes will be against renowned clubs like Inter Milan, Juventus, and Paris St Germain amongst others.
Liverpool, the next British team up for selection, drew a home match against the current champions, Real Madrid. Their roster of forthcoming matches also includes strong teams like Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and AC Milan, to name a few.
Arsenal, understanding from pot two, knew prior that they were to face-off PSG, Atalanta, and Inter Milan. Subsequently, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco and Girona were drawn as the other opponents.
Though Villa and Celtic, would be having matches against each other, Celtic also has to face teams including the previous season’s runners up Borussia Dortmund, amongst others from its position in Pot Three. Aston Villa meanwhile, coming from Pot Four, knows most of their competitors, with the likes of Juventus, Celtic, and Bologna making up the competition.
The detailed listing of matches, complete with dates and start times, is set to be publicised this Saturday.