UCL Group Stage draw pits Man City against Barca
What's the story
UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw sees Manchester City's coach Pep Gaurdiola returning to Camp Nou, as the English team was drawn in the same group as his former club Barcelona. City were beaten twice before in Round of 16 by the Spanish giants. German club Borussia Monchengladbach and Scottish champions Celtic are the other two teams that complete the Group C.
Brief
UEFA Champions League summary
UEFA Champions League is a European premier football club competition held annually. The competition began in 1955 as the "European Champion Club's Cup". It was replaced by the current 'Champions League' in 1992 which expanded from previous 8, to include 32 teams. Real Madrid are the most successful team in the competition having won it 11 times. They are also the reigning champions.
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2016-17 UCL season
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2016-17 is the 62nd season of the competition. The season will conclude with the final which would be held on 3rd June, 2017 at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff.
Group Stage
Group Stage format
All the 32 qualified teams are drawn into 8 groups (A-H) of four. Each team will play six matches during the Group Stage, in a double round robin format. Top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 16, the teams placed third from each group will be transferred to play the Europa League, and the fourth placed teams get eliminated.
A-B
Groups A-B draw results
Group A puts French champions Paris St-Germain (PSG) in the same group as Premier League club Arsenal, Swiss team FC Basel, and Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad. This is only the second Group Stage appearance for Ludogorets. Group B includes three domestic champions - Portuguese Benfica, Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev, Turkey's Besiktas, alongside Italy's Napoli. Benfica is the lone European Cup winner of both the groups
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Champions League debutants
English champions Leicester City and Russian side Rostov are making their Champions League debut in the 2016-17 season.
D,E,F draw
Group D-F teams
Last season's runner-ups Atletico Madrid will play the German league winners and former Champion League winners Bayern Munich, Netherlands' PSV Eindhoven and Russia's Rostov, in Group D. Group E includes - CSKA Moskva, Bayer Leverkusen, English team Tottenham Hotspur, and Monaco. Defending UCL champions Real Madrid have a comfortable draw where they face Borussia Dortumund, Sporting CP and Poland's Legia Warszawa.
G,H teams
G-H Group Stage draw
Premier League Champions Leicester City are set to play 2-time Champions League winner FC Porto, Belgium's Club Brugge, and Danish club FC Copenhagen, in Group G. Group H comprises of Series A winner and former Champions League winner Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon and Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. Juventus and Sevilla will meet in the UCL group stage for the second successive season.