Manchester United have joined Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in the Champions League proper this season and all four clubs will discover their fate today, but changes to the seeding system could spell trouble for the Premier League big guns.
The top seeds are no longer ranked according to their Uefa 'club coefficient' score, but on the previous season's results, which means that only Chelsea are among the top tier of teams, along with the champions of Uefa's other big leagues.
However, the remaining three pots are determined by Uefa's rankings, and Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City are all in pot two, which is populated by big clubs that did not win their leagues, along with Real and Atletico Madrid.
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Paradoxically it could mean that Chelsea face the toughest group, as there is a 5-1 chance they will end up in the same group as Real Madrid, as they cannot be drawn against any of the English teams in pool two.
For Chelsea "a dream group could include Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos and Malmo," says the Daily Mail. "A nightmare group could include Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg."
There is danger for the other English clubs too. The fact that Spanish champions Barcelona cannot face Real, Atletico or Valencia – the three Spanish sides in pool two – means there is a 60 per cent chance they will be drawn in the same group as one of the English teams.
The Premier League sides, and Manchester City in particular, will also be keen to avoid Bayern Munich. Manuel Pellegrini's side have been drawn against Bayern in the group stages three times in four years. They have also been knocked out by Barcelona in each of the past two seasons, so will also want to avoid the Spanish champions.
"A dream group for any of the three teams could include PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos and Malmo," says the Mail. "A nightmare group for any of the three teams could include Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg."
There are some other sides the Premier League clubs will want to avoid for reasons of distance. Trips to Shakhtar Dontesk and CSKA Moscow will not be appreciated by the English-based players or the fans. But "the most exotic team are unquestionably Astana - the first side from Kazakhstan to reach the tournament after they knocked out APOEL in the play-offs," says the Daily Telegraph, which warns: "Their stadium is a nine-hour flight from the UK."
