This week is the moment of truth for four Premier League teams, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur learning their fate in Friday's Champions League group stage draw.
All four of the English teams in last season's competition progressed to the knockout stages. City and Liverpool both won their groups, as did Manchester United, while Chelsea took second spot in theirs behind Juventus.
While three of the four have returned to this year's competition, Spurs are making their first appearance at European football's top table since the 2019-20 season, when they were beaten by RB Leipzig in the last 16.
With all the pots now decided ahead of the draw, Mirror Football has taken a closer look at the best and worst case scenarios for the Premier League's four representatives.
Manchester City
Premier League champions City are the only English club in pot 1. They are joined there by Champions League holders Real Madrid, Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt and five more league winners.
With the other three English teams in pot two, City only have five potential opponents from that group. Last season's 6-3 victory over RB Leipzig suggests Pep Guardiola wouldn't be averse to facing the German outfit again, but Barcelona or Atletico Madrid - who caused them problems in last year's quarter-finals - might be tougher tests.
Another of last year's opponents could be a welcome sight in pot three, with Sporting CP losing key men Matheus Nunes and Joao Palhinha since losing 5-0 to City in Lisbon in February.
In pot four, play-off winners Viktoria Plzen and Maccabi Haifa look like the most appetising, though Marseille could be a potential banana skin after a summer in which they have made permanent moves for the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and Alexis Sanchez.
Best case: RB Leipzig, Sporting CP, Maccabi Haifa
Worst case: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Marseille
Liverpool
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Last season's losing finalists won six games out of six in the group stage last season, and might be encouraged by the sight of two of those opponents in pot 1. Porto might be the most welcoming draw for the Reds, who put seven past the Portuguese champions in two group games and then signed Luis Diaz from them in January.
Real Madrid are the obvious worst-case scenario for Jurgen Klopp's team, based on their recent record against Los Blancos. Similarly, Italian duo Napoli and Inter Milan have recently caused the Reds problems in Europe, with the Nerazzurri making Liverpool work hard for a knockout victory last term, though Klopp may welcome a short away trip to take on his former club Borussia Dortmund rather than a longer journey to the arguably weaker-on-paper Shakhtar Donetsk.
As for pot four, it's much the same situation as City. However, play-off winners Dinamo Zagreb and FC Copenhagen might also be welcomed by fans keen on a new away day.
Best case: Porto, Borussia Dortmund, FC Copenhagen
Worst case: Real Madrid, Napoli, Marseille
Chelsea
Like Liverpool, Chelsea were eliminated from last season's Champions League by Real Madrid. Even if they're after revenge, a meeting later in the competition might be preferable to a group stage meeting which would also offer a reunion with Antonio Rudiger.
There are other potential reunions, including with former Blues striker Olivier Giroud at AC Milan, but Porto or Frankfurt may be preferable. Thomas Tuchel's side saw them off en route to winning the competition in 2021, winning the away leg 2-0.
In pot three, there's the dangerous prospect of coming up against a current player with a point to prove if Callum Hudson-Odoi ends up at Bayer Leverkusen, while the best-case scenario might involve Shakhtar Donetsk or Red Bull Salzburg. Pot four side Malmo didn't cause too many problems for Tuchel's men last term, but with the Swedish champions already eliminated in qualifying, some fans may welcome a short trip to Scotland or Denmark this autumn.
Best case: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Copenhagen
Worst case: Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Marseille
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs left it later than any other English side to book their place in the Champions League, and Antonio Conte will want to improve on his recent record after a last-16 elimination with Chelsea in 2018 and group stage exits with Inter Milan in 2020 and 2021. Real Madrid claimed two wins over his Inter side last time they met in Europe, so he may feel that's one to avoid.
Unlike other Premier League bosses, Conte might welcome Serie A opposition, meaning AC Milan from pot 1 or either Inter or Napoli from pot three. Conte is the kind to embrace a chance to face his former employers, though Frankfurt and Ajax might also be welcome sights after both pot 1 teams lost key members of last season's squads over the summer.
As for the fourth pot, Spurs have the opportunity to face off against their former goalkeeper Joe Hart at Celtic or ex-Arsenal star Gio van Bronckhorst, who now manages Rangers. However, purely in coefficient terms, Maccabi Haifa look like more beatable opponents.
Best case: Eintracht Frankfurt, Inter Milan, Maccabi Haifa
Worst case: Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Rangers
