Champions League draw simulated as Man United in group of death and City facing club they wanted to avoid

We simulated the Champions League draw ahead of the real thing on Thursday evening, and it wasn’t great news for United or City.

The Champions League draw takes place on Thursday night and heavyweights include defending champions Manchester City and returnees Manchester United.

City won the tournament with a historic treble last season, beating Inter Milan 1-0 in the final. United return to Europe’s top competition after a year’s absence after Erik ten Hag guided the Reds to third place in the Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford. United’s , are in the second group of the draw, meaning they cannot play Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, RB Leipzig, Inter Milan or Arsenal.

Clubs from the same country cannot play each other, meaning there will be no Manchester derby in the group stage. City plays in the first division alongside Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich, PSG, Sevilla, Napoli, Benfica and Feyenoord. That’s how our mock draw went, with both Manchester clubs headed for the knockout rounds.

Not an easy task for United. The Champions League title might have eluded the French champions but PSG are regulars in the latter stages of the competition and in Kylian Mbappe have one of the world’s best players. AC Milan sit top of Serie A and have started the season in impressive style, while Real Sociedad won at Old Trafford in the Europa League last season.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Young Boys

Group D: Napoli, Leipzig, Braga, Antwerp

Group E: MANCHESTER CITY, Real Madrid, Lazio, Lens

Of all the teams City will have wanted to avoid, Madrid will have been top of the list. The Blues may well have dismantled them on their way to the trophy last season but Real remain a high class outfit steeped in European history and with the signing of Jude Bellingham, are arguably stronger this time around. Italian side Lazio have begun the Serie A season poorly but finished second to Napoli last season. French outfit Lens are the weakest side in the competition according to the UEFA co-efficient and are yet to win in their domestic league so far this term and would surely be no match for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Group F: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Union Berlin

Group G: Sevilla, Inter, FC Copenhagen, Celtic

Group H: Benfica, Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Newcastle