Newcastle United will discover their Champions League group-stage opponents when the draw takes place at 5pm on Thursday. While there are 30 possible clubs they could be paired with, five Premier League sides Spurs, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal are off limits at this stage.
That leaves 30 potential non-English opponents, but history shows Newcastle have already faced half of them. In fact, the Magpies have played 38 European matches against 15 of those clubs across previous competitions.
From Pot One, Newcastle have past meetings with PSG, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, with only Real Madrid and Bayern Munich representing new challenges.
In Pot Two, familiar opponents include Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Juventus, Club Brugge and Eintracht Frankfurt leaving Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Atalanta as possible fresh encounters.
In Pot Three, they’ve already met PSV, Marseille, Olympiakos and Sporting Lisbon, while Ajax, Napoli and Slavia Praha would be first-time opponents.
Finally, Pot Four offers the greatest chance of new meetings, with six clubs Kairat Almaty, Pafos, Galatasaray, Qarabag, Copenhagen and Union Saint-Gilloise – never having faced Newcastle in Europe.
As Newcastle prepare for their second successive Champions League campaign, the draw could either renew old rivalries or present brand-new tests on the continental stage.
