The UEFA Champions league campaign is upon us.
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The governing body has also released a series of changes which are set to come into Europe’s elite club competition.
Surprise English Premier League champions Leicester City are in Group F and are strong contenders to progress to the knockout stages.
According to Uefa competitions director Giorgio Marchetti, the format for the Champions League will remain the same.
City, who visit the Nou Camp on October 19, met Barca in the round of 16 in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and lost both legs on each occasion. He also mentioned that a 24-team group stage was discussed, but ultimately scrapped.
“We have awaited the draw with great anticipation”, he told the club’s official website.
“And Legia, as the first Polish team in 20 years to reach the group stage, are something [to think about]”. “It is a delightful group, equally hard and attractive”.
“They have evolved over time in terms of their playing culture and of course they have become an institution”. “For this reason we must fight for everything”, he said. “It is an awesome competition, an unbelievable group”.
Porto is taking part in the group stage for the 21st time, a record it shares with Real and Barca.
GROUP A: Paris St Germain, Arsenal, Basel, Ludogorets.
The fourth ranked league, now Italy, have only two guaranteed places plus one in the playoff round. UEFA could not risk their big names leaving to form a Super League, and the organization hopes these changes will help the clubs settle down.
The coefficient system, which is used to rank the leagues and clubs, will also change, although it shouldn’t endanger the top four leagues.
Group B: Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas.
City, Barcelona and Celtic were drawn together in Group C at Thursday’s draw in Monaco alongside German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach.
GROUP D: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Rostov.
Group E: CSKA Moscow (Russia), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Tottenham (England), Monaco (France).
Finally, Cristiano Ronaldo is coming back to where it all began – title holder Real Madrid is drawn against Sporting Lisbon, where Ronaldo’s career took flight.
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Serie A champion Juventus is in group H with Sevilla, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb.
