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United draw Celtic in Champions League

28/08/2008

Holders Manchester United have been drawn against Scottish champions Celtic in the group stages of this season's Champions League.

The English champions face their counterparts from north of the border in what is a potential banana-skin group featuring Spanish side Villarreal and Danish club Aalborg.

Liverpool have been handed arguably the most difficult draw of any of the Premier League sides, who have otherwise largely avoided the most dangerous opponents.

The Reds face a rematch against Olympique Marseille, the side who almost succeeded in knocking out the 2005 champions at the group stage last season, in a group also featuring Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Spanish side Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea have what looks to be a relatively straightforward path to the knockout stages of the competition after being drawn alongside Serie A club AS Roma, French side Bordeaux and Romanian champions CFR Cluj.

And Arsenal's draw is also favourable, with 2004 winners FC Porto providing the strongest opposition in a group alongside Fenerbahce of Turkey and Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev.

The obligatory group of death is possibly group H, featuring Spanish champions Real Madrid, Italian giants Juventus and Uefa Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg of Russia.

Belarusian side BATE Borisov are the fourth club in what is a near impossible task for them in their first ever Champions League outing.

Champions League draw in full:

Group AChelsea
AS Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

Group B

Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta

Group C

Barcelona
Sporting
FC Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group DLiverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Olympique Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Group EManchester United
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg

Group F

Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

Group GArsenal
FC Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev

Group H

Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
BATE Borisov