http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...celona?cc=4716
City could get AC Milan and Barcelona
August 25, 2011
Arsenal will be among the top seeds in the Champions League draw, following their victory over Udinese but new-boys ManC r likely 2 face a tough debut in the competition.
The Champions League group stage draw takes place @ 1645 BST.
Roberto Mancini's side hv been placed amongst the 3rd seeds 4 2day's group stage draw & could face the champions of Spain, Italy & Germany.
City would end up taking on Barcelona, AC Milan or Borussia Dortmund in the worst-case scenario.
And even though they hv shelled out £75 million this summer, with Samir Nasri the latest arrival on Wednesday, City would face a tough ask 2 clamber out of such a fearsome group.
But should the draw be kinder, they could find themselves pitted against Porto, CSKA Moscow & Romanian side Otelul Galati.
The other English teams involved - Arsenal, Chelsea & ManU - r all in the top tier of the seedings, putting them in pole position 2 secure a simpler route thru 2 the knockout stages.
UEFA's rules 4 the draw will see the 32 qualified teams allocated into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each group will contain a top seed, + 1 club each fr the 2nd, 3rd & 4th pots.
Each pot is determined by a club's UEFA ranking & the top 2 in each group will go thru 2 the knock-out phase of the Champions League, & the 3rd-place side 2 the knock-out phase of the Europa League.
Champions League draw seedings
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Pot 1: ManU, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Porto & Inter Milan
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Pot 2: Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon, Villarreal, AC Milan, Valencia, Marseille, CSKA Moscow & Benfica
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Pot 3: Zenit St Petersburg, ManC, Olympiakos, Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, Basle, Lille & BATE
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Pot 4: Napoli, Genk, Borussia Dortmund, Trabzonspor, Dinamo Zagreb, APOEL, Otelul Galati & Viktoria Pizen