If a worst-case scenario occurs, Manchester City may be barred from competing in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s team are the defending FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League champions, and
while they have not achieved the lofty heights of last season, there is every anticipation that they will eventually be competitive on all fronts.
Kevin De Bruyne, City’s star, is being eased back into first-team activity after suffering a hamstring injury in the season opener against Burnley.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland, who established a club record with 52 goals in all competitions last season, is
expected to return from injury for the ‘business end’ of the campaign.
However, the most unexpected of oddities has resulted in City potentially needing to finish at the top of the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Indeed, if Girona wins La Liga and City loses the Premier League, sister club Girona may be able to prevent Guardiola’s squad from competing in Europe’s Premier League next season.
This is due to UEFA’s restrictions regarding multi-model ownership. Under UEFA rules, no two teams from the same ownership group may participate against each other.
If two teams from the same ownership group qualify for the same UEFA competition, the team that finishes first in their domestic championship advances.
If two teams finish in the same spot, the team with the greatest club coefficient, which in this case is City, is given qualification.
However, if Girona wins La Liga and City finishes second in the Premier League, the Spanish club would compete in the Champions League the following season, while City will play in the Europa League.
At the moment, the latter situation is not out of the question, with Girona leading La Liga and City five points behind the Premier League leaders.
The ties between City and Girona are clear. In August 2017, the City Football Group bought a 44.3% ownership in Girona in an equal partnership with the Girona Football Group, which is controlled by Pere Guardiola, City manager Pep’s brother.
CFG has now raised its shareholding to 47%, with Pere Guardiola currently owning 16%. Another 35 percent
Even if Manchester City wins the Premier League, they may lose out on a berth in the Champions League the following season.
City, the reigning European champions, are favourites to win it all again following a solid start to the 23/24 season.
Pep Guardiola’s side returned to the top of the Premier League after a 6-1 victory against Bournemouth on Saturday.
With City set to finish in the top four, its owners, the City Football Group, may face a Champions League conundrum.
This is because Girona, another City Football Group club, has had a fantastic start to their La Liga season.
Girona now leads La Liga with 31 points from their first 12 matches, two points ahead of Real Madrid.
Current UEFA regulations prohibit owners from fielding two clubs in the same European competition, which might pose an issue for the City Football Group if Girona maintains their excellent form.
However, the City Football Group might sidestep the situation by selling Girona or lowering their ownership in the club such that they are not the primary shareholder.
Manchester United, City’s local rivals, experienced a similar situation after it was revealed that British millionaire and INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe was interested in purchasing the club.
However, anxieties have been alleviated after it was revealed that Ratcliffe is likely to purchase a minority share in the Old Trafford club.
City will resume their Champions League defence on Tuesday night when they host Swiss champions BSC Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium.
Arsenal will avoid a ‘worst-case scenario’ Champions League group after being seeded second for next season’s competition.
The Gunners finished second in the Premier League this season, earning automatic qualification to the Champions League for the first time since 2017.
However, their lack of success in European competition has resulted in a low UEFA coefficient, as measured over a five-year period.
Arsenal are presently ranked 23rd in the UEFA club coefficient rankings. That implies that, because each Champions League pot has eight teams, the Gunners would have been placed in pot three if all of the clubs ahead of them had qualified for Europe’s premier competition.
However, a number of teams ahead of them—including Juventus, Roma, Chelsea, and Tottenham—have
Arsenal have officially been confirmed as being in pot two for the forthcoming competition, despite the fact that teams still need to qualify. It means they avoid a potentially disastrous situation that may have occurred had they been in pot three.
Which clubs will Arsenal not be drawn against?
Arsenal will not meet Real Madrid in the group stages, which is a significant advantage, since the 14-time champions have also been placed into pot two.
Other European powerhouses in the mix include Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid, as well as this season’s finalists Inter Milan.
In pot one, the Gunners cannot draw defending champions Manchester City, as two clubs from the same association cannot face one other in the group round. This also guarantees an early clash with.
While Arsenal has dodged a potential ‘group of death’ situation, there is no assurance that their journey to the knockout round will be easy.
This season’s semi-finalists, AC Milan, are in Pot 3, while league champions Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Napoli, and PSG are in Pot 1.
Based on current UEFA coefficients, their best-case scenario is to draw Feyenoord, Celtic, and Lens in the group stage.
Celtic are among the clubs that are not assured a spot in pot three or four since all 32 teams have yet to qualify, along with Real Sociedad. PSV, Galatasaray, Rangers, Marseille, and Young Boys are among the teams who must get through the qualification process.
The fixture schedule for the 2023/24 Premier League season was announced on Thursday, and it has created a possible dilemma for Manchester United.
The future Premier League season will begin on August 12 and end nine months later, on May 19, 2024.
The start date is one week later than the beginning of the 2022/23 season, as the football calendar returns to normal.
The last one began significantly sooner and ended longer than normal because to the Covid-19 epidemic and the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
United, who finished third last season, have been given a favorable start to the new season against Wolves at Old Trafford on August 14.
United have a Champions League headache.
The fixture list has highlighted a possible difficulty for
United’s first Manchester derby comes on October 28 when they host City at Old Trafford, with the return match at the Etihad on March 2.
Their first encounter is just days after their third Champions League group stage match, which will take place on October 24 or 25.
United will then travel to face Liverpool on December 16, with Ten Hag’s side facing their bitter rivals at Old Trafford on April 6.
The first encounter at Anfield, where they were thrashed 7-0 last season, comes just days after United’s final Champions League group stage fixture, which will be played on December 12 or 13.
Speaking last month, United manager Ten Hag stated he would need to improve.
The highly anticipated Champions League round of 16 draw is approaching.
Last Thursday, the group stage concluded, with English hopes Manchester United and Newcastle United eliminated.
The Red Devils were eliminated after losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich at Old Trafford, and Newcastle were beaten by AC Milan at St. James’ Park.
After finishing at the bottom of their respective groups, both sides will miss out on European action in the new year.
The only Premier League teams left in Europe’s top club tournament are reigning champions Manchester City and Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to dethrone Pep Guardiola’s team.
Ahead of the round of 16 draw on Monday, we decided to utilize a simulator to anticipate which teams will be formed.
Teams who finished first in their group will be put in pot one, with second-placed teams in pot two.
Pot one includes Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Manchester City, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Atletico Madrid.
Pot Two: Copenhagen, PSV Eindhoven, Napoli, Inter Milan, RB Leipzig, Porto, Paris Saint Germain, and Lazio.
The draw has produced some fascinating ties, with defending champions City facing a nightmarish match against French rivals PSG.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal face a potentially difficult test against Bundesliga club RB Leipzig.
European powerhouses Inter Milan and Barcelona have been selected to face off, while Copenhagen, this year’s surprise gift, will face Borussia Dortmund.
Simulated Champions League round of 16 draw:
Napoli against Atletico Madrid
Inter Milan against Barcelona
PSV Eindhoven against Real Madrid
Lazio against Real Sociedad
Paris Saint Germain against Manchester City
Porto against Bayern Munich
RB Leipzig against Arsenal
Copenhagen against Borussia Dortmund
The draw for the Champions League round of 16 will take place on Monday, December 18, in Nyon, Switzerland.
Topics: Champions League, Arsenal, Manchester City, Football.
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