United To Face Celtic Again

Champions League holders Manchester United
were drawn with Scottish champions Celtic in
the group stages of this year's competition.

The British pair will also face Spaniards Villa-
rreal and Danish side Aalborg in Group E.

The four English sides were guaranteed to be
kept apart after being made top seeds, but

Celtic could have faced any one of them after being drawn in the third pot of clubs.

They will get their chance to test themselves against the English champions in two mouthwatering clashes.

The fixtures will pit Celtic manager Gordon Strachan against his one-time boss
Sir Alex Ferguson.

The pair met in the Champions League group stages in 2006/07, with Celtic
winning 1-0 at home but Manchester United edging the return fixture 3-2
at Old Trafford.

"It was a great event the last time we played," said United chief executive
David Gill. "Both clubs have passionate fans and we're looking forward to it.

Celtic chairman John Reid added: "It's fabulous for Celtic fans. There are no
easy groups, there are no free passes in Europe.

"We're just proud to be Scotland's representative in there and to be playing
the European champions."

United star Cristiano Ronaldo was at the draw in Monaco, where he was
named Uefa's European Club Footballer of the Year.

Ronaldo scored eight goals in the competition last season and also won the
award for the forward of the year.

Full Champions League draw:

Group A

CHELSEA
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

Group B

Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta

Group C

Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D

LIVERPOOL
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Group E

MAN UTD
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg

Group F

Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

Group G

ARSENAL
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev

Group H

Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Bate Borisov

Games will be played on the following dates:

16/17 September
30 September/1 October
21/22 October
4/5 November
25/26 November
9/10 December

Champions League Draw - Thursday 28th August

Five British clubs will discover their Champions League opponents when the
draw for the group stages is made at 5pm on Thursday.

Holders Manchester United, along with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Celtic
will be involved.

The 32 teams in the pot will be split into eight groups of four teams, with the
first set of matches due to be played on 16/17 September.

The four English sides will be kept apart after being made top seeds.

Celtic could face any one of the English sides after being drawn in the third pot
of clubs.

Liverpool and Arsenal both came through qualifying, along with the likes of
Barcelona and Juventus to make it to the lucrative stages of Europe's premier
competition.

European heavyweights like Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich
come into the competition at the group stages.

But Scottish side Rangers failed to make it through the qualifying stages,
while 2007 winners AC Milan missed out after finishing fifth in Serie A last
season.

The eight group winners plus the runners-up go through to the knockout
stages of the competition, while the teams finishing third go into the Uefa
Cup.

Rome's Stadio Olimpico will stage the Champions League final on 27 May
2009. The stadium was the venue for Liverpool's European Cup triumphs
in 1977 and 1984 and also played host to Juventus' victory in 1996.

AS Roma and Lazio, who play their home games at the Stadio Olimpico,
are involved in the competition.

The winner of the Uefa Club Footballer of the Year will also be announced
on Thursday.

England's 'big four' clubs provide 17 of the 20 players on the shortlist for
the award.

Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer and Barcelona pair Lionel Messi and Carlos
Puyol are the only non-Premier League players to be nominated.

Teams in the draw for the Champions League group stages:

Pot one

MANCHESTER UNITED
CHELSEA
LIVERPOOL
Barcelona
ARSENAL
Lyon
Inter Milan
Real Madrid

Pot two

Bayern Munich
PSV Eindhoven
Villarreal
AS Roma
FC Porto
Werder Bremen
Sporting Lisbon
Juventus

Pot three

Marseille
Zenit St Petersburg
Steaua Bucharest
Panathinaikos
Bordeaux
CELTIC
Basel
Fenerbahce

Pot four

Shakhtar Donetsk
Fiorentina
Atletico Madrid
Dynamo Kiev
CFR Cluj
Aalborg
Anorthosis
Famagusta Bate Borisov

Games will be played on the following dates:

16/17 September
30 September/1 October
21/22 October
4/5 November
25/26 November
9/10 December

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