The group stage draw for this season's UEFA Champions League takes place later on this afternoon. As usual there will be interest for the British clubs as Premier League champions Manchester United are joined by Manchester City, last seasons Europa League winners Chelsea, Arsenal and Celtic who
overturned a two nil first leg deficit to beat Shakhter Karagandy yesterday. Among the other clubs who progressed through the qualifiers were seven times winners AC Milan and Real Sociedad who superbly saw off Lyon. United and Chelsea - won won this competition in 2012 - are more likely to have a favourable group, compared to City who face the prospect of being placed in a 'Group of Death' for the third consecutive year. As such Manuel Pellegrini, who replaced Roberto Mancini over the summer, may have to confront their Champions League nightmare in recent seasons which could come back to haunt them. Two years ago they were drawn in the same group as Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal and last season it was arguably even tougher as they were paired with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund (beaten finalists last season) and Ajax. On both occasions the Mancunians failed to progress to the knockout phase of the competition. This year they have again been seeded in pot three and face the prospect of being drawn against either Champions League holders Bayern Munich, Serie A champions Juventus and Celtic. On the other hand, Pellegrini's side could be drawn against either Porto or Benfica who sit among the top seeds and CSKA Moscow or Marseille from pot two - a draw that would be kinder to their chances of making it past the group stage. UEFA's ranking system determines the seeding and their poor showing in this competition in recent seasons means they have been unable to improve their ranking, and thus improve their chances of avoiding Europe's heavyweight teams. Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are all in pot one which means they are guaranteed to avoid Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich as well as both Portuguese clubs Porto and Benfica. However, they may not be exempt in being handed a tough draw as all three face the prospect of facing Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid in pot two, Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in pot three, or Rafa Benitez' Napoli in pot four. This season promises to be a little different with several new managers beginning life at their new clubs including Pep Guardiola at Bayern after his one year sabbatical, Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, David Moyes at Manchester United and Carlo Ancelotti with Real Madrid. With Moyes adapting to life in the Premier League at Old Trafford, his induction to life managing in Europe promises to provide a greater challenge. In fact it still seems strange to see somebody other than Sir Alex Ferguson strolling around the technical area. The English clubs will want to revitalise their respective fortunes on the European stage, because even Chelsea who won the competition in 2012, became the first defending champion to exit at the first hurdle. United and City also struggled last season, while Arsenal will want to prove their worth rubbing shoulders with Europe's elite following their victory over Fenerbahce which booked their place in today's draw. City will hope their tough baptism of fire over the last couple of years will stand them in good stead this time around, but only if they can avoid the worst case scenario this season and avoid any substitute bench shenanigans. It is no secret that despite the tough draws they have endured (Munich were finalists in 2012, Dortmund were finalists in 2013) their poor showing partly led to the demise of Mancini along with dressing room disharmony. This is just one of several questions though. Can Gerardo Martino continue Barcelona's success? Will German Football still reign supreme this year? Can the British Club genuinely challenge this time around? Will Ancelotti bring stability to Madrid? These will all be answered in due course, all that is left is for all thirty two clubs to learn their fate. The draw begins at 16.45 UK time.
Guide to the drawPot 1: Bayern Munich (holders), Barcelona,
Chelsea, Real Madrid,
Manchester United,
Arsenal, Porto, Benfica
Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan, Schalke 04, Marseille, CSKA Moscow, PSG, Juventus
Pot 3: Zenit St Petersburg,
Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, FC Basel, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, Napoli,
Celtic, Anderlecht, Steaua Bucharest, Viktoria Plzen, Real Sociedad, Austria Vienna
How it works Seedings are based on Uefa's coefficient system, determined by results in European competitions over the past five years. One team from each of the four pots is drawn into each of the eight groups. Teams from the same country CANNOT be drawn together at the group stage. The top two teams from each group go through.