LOWDOWN ON THE DRAW: THE GROUPS & GAMES TO WATCH

MAN UTD: Mixed omens as old foes battle again

MANCHESTER United and Benfica will be reunited 50 years after the classic European Cup final at Wembley.

United famously won the game 4-1 after extra time to become the first English side to win the trophy, a decade after the Munich disaster. United were drawn with the top-seeded Portuguese side in Group A. It will mean an early return to Estadio da Luz for £31million defender Victor Lindelof who moved to Old Trafford in June, while boss Jose Mourinho is a former Benfica coach. United also face Basel, who knocked them out in 2011, but return to Moscow, where they last won the trophy in 2008, to play CSKA.

MAN UTD: THEIR GROUP

On the last occasion Man Utd were in a CL group with Basel, they were knocked out in at that stage (2011/12).

Jose Mourinho has lost just one of his previous seven competitive meetings with Benfica as a manager (W4 D2 L1).

United have played CSKA Moscow four times in the CL. They met in the Group stage in 2015-16 and beat them 1-0 at home, while drawing 1-1 away.

MAN CITY: Pep told it has to be latter stages

PEP GUARDIOLA has been told Manchester City want to challenge for the Champions League every year after being drawn with Shakhtar Donetsk, Napoli and Feyenoord.

City were knocked out in the last-16 stage last season and director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “We want to be a club who is always there in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. We want to be there every year. “We hope we can remember what we did two years ago, going to the semi-finals. Why not even more?

“But Napoli play the best football in Europe. Maurizio Sarri is an extraordinary coach and he and Guardiola are two football masters.”

MAN CITY: THEIR GROUP

Manchester City’s first ever Champions League match came against Napoli in September 2011, drawing 1-1.

City have met Ukrainian opponents once before in the CL; beating Dynamo Kyiv 3-1 over two legs in 2015-16.

The Blues have never beaten Dutch opposition in the CL; drawing and losing against Ajax in 2012-13 (D1 L1).

CHELSEA: Costa casts shadow over reunions

CHELSEA will enjoy reunions with Fernando Torres and Filipe Luis against Atletico Madrid – but the ties threaten to be overshadowed by Diego Costa.

The Blues striker is still refusing to return to London and demanding a transfer back to his former club. Last years’s losing Champions League finalists are serving a transfer ban for breaching FIFA rules over the signing of minors and cannot bring the £32m forward back in this window.

Fernando Torres tweeted: “Back at Stamford Bridge for the UEFA Champions League. So happy to see the Blues back in the competition.“

Group C also contains Roma and Qarabag from Azerbaijan.

CHELSEA: THEIR GROUP

Chelsea have won one of five games against Atletico Madrid in Europe (D2 L2), and none of the last four.

This will be Chelsea’s first European clash with Roma since 2008, when they lost 3-1 in Rome under Luiz Felipe Scolari.

English teams have faced opposition from Azerbaijan twice previously in Europe - Tottenham and Qarabag in the 2015/16 Europa League (Spurs W2).

ODDS

REAL MADRID are

10-3 (from 4-1) to win the trophy. Next is Bayern Munich at

6-1, then PSG and Barcelona at

7-1. British clubs are on

9: Man United,

10: Man City,

14: Chelsea,

18: Liverpool

33: Spurs 40: Bar

LIVERPOOL: THEIR GROUP

Liverpool’s only previous meeting with Sevilla came in the 2016 Europa League final, when Jurgen Klopp’s men were beaten 3-1 in Basel.

The Reds will meet Spartak Moscow in the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2002/03, when they won both home (5-0) and away (3-1).

Maribor will be just the second Slovenian side to face Liverpool in European competition, after Olimpija Ljubljana in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup.

TOTTENHAM: When Harry meets Gareth...

HARRY KANE says Tottenham can’t wait to test themselves against Gareth Bale’s Real Madrid.

Welshman Bale faces his old team for the first time since joining the Spanish champions for a then world record fee of £85million in 2013. Spurs host the holders, Borussia Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia at Wembley. Kane said: “It’s a great draw. You expect to play the best in Europe and it’s exciting for us.”

Spurs lost 4-0 against Real Madrid in the second leg in 2011 when Peter Crouch was dismissed. The Stoke forward tweeted: “If they don’t have an idiot sent off early they have a great chance.”

SPURS THEIR GROUP

Cristiano Ronaldo scored in both of Real Madrid’s previous Champions League games against Tottenham.

Spurs lost both home and away against Dortmund in their EL last 16 tie back in 2015-16 - their only previous meetings with the German side.

Tottenham have never lost to Cypriot opposition in Europe before - winning three and drawing once.

CELTIC: Ntcham ready for battle with Neymar

CELTIC’S French midfielder Olivier Ntcham can’t wait to lock horns with Paris Saint-germain’s record-breaking superstar Neymar.

Ntcham, 21, moved to Glasgow in the summer from Manchester City and said: “I am very excited. It is always good to play against a big player like Neymar.”

Asked if the Hoops could qualify for the knockout stages, he said: “I want to say maybe because everything can happen in football. It is all about Champions League qualification.

“For the fans of Paris, they are going to think it is an easy game for them but in the Champions League we don’t have easy games.“

CELTIC: THEIR GROUP

These two former European Cup winners have met just once in European competition; in the group stages of the 2003-04 Champions League campaign Bayern unbeaten (W1 D1).

The Hoops also met RSC Anderlecht in the same group; winning their home fixture 3-0 but losing 1-0 in the reserve game.

MATCHDAY ONE: 12-13 SEPTEMBER MATCHDAY TWO: 26-27 SEPTEMBER MATCHDAY THREE: 17-18 OCTOBER MATCHDAY 4: 31 OCTOBER-1 NOVEMBER MATCHDAY FIVE: 21-22 NOVEMBER MATCHDAY SIX: 5-6 DECEMBER