Newcastle's 2023/24 Champions League pot & potential group stage opponents

When Bruno Guimaraes arrived at Newcastle in January 2022 as the first statement signing of the club's controversial ownership, he told the assembled journalists: "We're going to be a big power in world football."

Within 18 months, the velvety £40m midfielder has helped the Magpies justify his brazen optimism. Guimaraes has been one of many star performers in a well-drilled Newcastle side that secured the club's first taste of Champions League football in 20 years.

World domination may have to wait, but here's what lies ahead in Newcastle's assault on the continent next season.

What 2023/24 Champions League pot are Newcastle in?

Unlike the glory days of the European Cup, when the likes of Diego Maradona's Napoli could face Real Madrid in the first round, the Champions League group stage is seeded.

All 32 teams are split into four pots which are evenly spread between the eight groups. Pot one consists of the league winners from England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal and the Netherlands - Europe's seven highest-ranked divisions - as well as the Champions League and Europa League champions.

The rest of the teams are filtered into each pot according to their UEFA club coefficient - a proxy for quality. This figure is usually the sum of points earned from European comPetition over the past five seasons but Newcastle have not graced any continental stage since reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2013. Therefore, Newcastle's ranking is 20% of the Premier League's association coefficient.

Despite the strength of England's top flight, Newcastle's lack of recent European experience is telling, giving the Magpies a coefficient of 21.914, lower than the likes of Real Sociedad and Celtic.

Six teams will enter the Champions League group stage via the myriad of qualifying rounds. Depending on the strength of the clubs that qualify, Newcastle could be nudged into pot four but they can go no higher than pot three.

READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE

Newcastle's 2023/24 potential Champions League group stage opponents

Without knowing which pot Newcastle will wind up in, an air of uncertainty hangs over the list of potential opponents.

The Magpies are guaranteed to avoid the three other English sides in the competition - Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal - as two teams from the same association cannot be drawn together.

However, Newcastle will face one team from each of the first two star-studded pots. Barcelona delivered the decisive blow to ensure that Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle didn't advance from the second group phase of the competition back in 2003. Xavi Hernandez was subbed off at half-time in that contest but could lead the Blaugrana back to St James' Park as manager next season.

In the immediate aftermath of Newcastle's takeover, fanciful rumours of Kylian Mbappe's imminent arrival on Tyneside proliferated social media. If he remains in the French capital this summer, Mbappe could go up against Newcastle from the tip of Paris Saint-Germain's attack.

The champions of Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands - Napoli, Benfica and Feyenoord respectively - also lie in wait, as do perennial Europa League winners Sevilla.

Pot two may not have the numerical edge over pot one but it contains plenty of formidable foes. Record-champions Real Madrid headline this section, with 2023 runners-up Inter also looming ominously.

After leaving Bournemouth in 2020, Howe famously spent time watching Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid train. The combative Argentine's wily tactics have been laced through Newcastle's successful season, crystallised by Howe's mantra: "We're not here to be popular; we’re here to compete." A group-stage double-header between Newcastle and Atletico would certainly be one for the purists.

While Howe was still in charge of Bournemouth, he flew to Empoli to learn from the club's then-manager Maurizio Sarri. The chain-smoking former banker is now in charge of Lazio, a potential opponent for Newcastle if they drop into pot four.

2023 Champions League semi-finalists AC Milan, Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg, Ukrainian top-flight winners Shakhtar Donetsk and Serbian behemoths Red Star Belgrade are the other clubs confirmed of a spot in pot three.

La Liga's Real Sociedad and Scottish giants Celtic are in a similar position to Newcastle, with their pot status dictated by the strength of the Champions League qualifiers.

If Newcastle do sneak into pot three, they could face one of Union Berlin or Lens - two clubs guaranteed to be the weakest team in each group on paper but with the potential to cause plenty of upsets against the continent's more established elite.

Newcastle's toughest potential 2023/24 Champions League group (according to UEFA coefficient)

If Newcastle's start to the new Premier League season looks daunting, there is the potential for an even trickier return to the continent's premier club competition.

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are two of the three highest-ranked clubs according to UEFA's coefficient - only freshly-crowned treble winners Manchester City are deemed to be more imperious.

As Bayern and Real occupy different pots and associations, they could feasibly be drawn together into what would immediately be brandished a group of death. As a team ranked outside the first two pots, there is every chance that Newcastle could wind up alongside these behemoths of the European landscape.

In the event that Newcastle were shunted into pot four, the highest-ranked pot three side they could draw would be Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite the ongoing turmoil back home, Igor Jovicevic's spirited team won their domestic league and held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw in last season's Champions League group stage.

If Newcastle are to live up to Guimaraes' goals of global recognition, they will have to compete with the best sides Europe has to offer - although, they may not want them all stuffed into the same Champions League group.