Liverpool move a step closer to favourable Champions League draw after Basel’s exit

Liverpool are a step closer to Pot 2 in the Champions League draw after Basel were knocked out last night, as per reports from the Liverpool Echo.

The Swiss team were beaten 3-0 at home by Greek side PAOK Salonika and went out 5-1 on aggregate. Liverpool are currently in Pot 3 for the draw of the group stages and would be promoted to Pot 2 should Benfica fail to make it to the draw.

While Basel are out, Benfica will enter the competition in the third qualifying round and will need to win two ties before entering the main draw of the Champions League.

Liverpool making it to the second pot would be beneficial as we could avoid some of the big teams in Europe.

Borussia Dortmund, Napoli and Porto are some of the sides we would miss out on in the group stages with a Pot 2 seeding. This would greatly boost our chances of landing in an easier group.

There is some good news for the supporters as we do not have to navigate a qualifier for the group stages. We had to play against Hoffenheim last season since we finished 4th in the Premier League the season before.

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However, new rules have ensured that the top four sides from the Premier League directly make it to the Champions League group stage.