Guardiola returning to Barca

MONACO: Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were yesterday drawn against his former Barcelona team in one of the toughest of the eight groups.

Bayern Munich were given a quick chance to avenge last season’s semifinal defeat by Atletico Madrid after they were drawn together, while English Premier League winners Leicester City will face Porto, Club Bruges and Copenhagen on their debut.

Elsewhere, holders and 11-time champions Real Madrid renew their rivalry with Borussia Dortmund.

Barca and City were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic, with recent history favouring the Catalans.

Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, suffered a 5-3 aggregate defeat when he faced his old team with Bayern in the semi-finals two seasons ago.

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.

Bayern, now under triple Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti, and Atletico are clear favourites to progress from Group D which also features PSV Eindhoven and Russian league runners-up Rostov who are also group-stage debutants.

Real and Dortmund should go through from Group F at the expense of Sporting and Legia Warsaw, who are back in the group stage after a 20year absence.

Leicester, the other newcomers among the 32 teams, and Porto will start as favourites in Group G, even though the English side are taking part for the first time.

Juventus, Serie A winners for the last five seasons, face Sevilla, Olympique Lyonnais and Dinamo Zagreb in Group H, with the first three likely to battle for the top two places.

Serie A has only two teams in the group stage. The other side, Napoli, will meet Benfica, Besiktas and Dynamo Kiev in Group B.

Group E is arguably the most evenly-balanced with CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur and Monaco.