The British teams have all avoided the biggest names of European football after the group stage draw in Monaco yesterday. The English teams were all seeded in Pot A, but still faced the potential challenge of Pot B sides Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Juventus. Rangers could have played a Premier League side, as they were in Pot B, but instead drew Sevillia, who were considered as one of the weakest of the top seeds.
Liverpool were the first name out of the hat, though, and were subsequently drawn against Lyon, Fiorentina, and Debrecen of Hungary in Group E. Chelsea have to contend with Porto, Atletico Madrid, and APOEL Nicosia, while Manchester United’s biggest Group B challenge may be newcomers Wolfsburg, with trips to Russia and Turkey also on their agenda. Arsenal have a less strenuous group in terms of travelling, but will still have to get past AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, and Standard Liege to get to the knockout round. Along with Sevilla, Rangers will play Stuttgart and Unirea Urziceni.
The other three groups, although having no British presence, will still throw up some interesting ties, including Barcelona v Inter Milan, AC Milan v Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich v Juventus.
Each team will play the other three both home and away, with the 6-game schedule beginning on the 15th of September, and ending on the 9th of December.
Group Draw:
Group A: BAYERN MUNICH, JUVENTUS, BORDEAUX, MACCABI HAIFA
Group B: MANCHESTER UNITED, CSKA MOSCOW, BESIKTAS, WOLFSBURG
Group C: AC MILAN, REAL MADRID, MARSEILLE, FC ZURICH
Group D: CHELSEA, PORTO, ATLETICO MADRID, APOEL NICOSIA
Group E: LIVERPOOL, LYON, FIORENTINA, DEBRECEN
Group F: BARCELONA, INTER MILAN, DYNAMO KIEV, RUBIN KAZAN
Group G: SEVILLA, RANGERS, STUTTGART, UNIREA URZICENI
Group H: ARSENAL, AZ ALKMAAR, OLYMPIACOS, STANDARD LIEGE
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