Every club participating in the UEFA Champions League now knows its fate and the route they will have to maneuver to make it to the knockout stages of the competition. Newcastle will be showing up for the tournament for the first time in years after finishing in fourth place in last season's Premier League table. The Magpies have been handed to a brutal Champions League group, however, as they will have to face European giants Paris Saint Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan. Newcastle knew that they might end up in the ‘group of death’ however after they were placed in pot four, which is reserved for the eight weakest teams in terms of UEFA's coefficient rankings. They now find themselves drawn up to Group F, a group that consists of the earlier mentioned ‘big boys’ of Europe. 

Harry Kane's Bayern Munich will face off with Manchester United in a group that also consists of Copenhagen and Galatasaray making up Group A. Bayern and United are the big names in this group and are expected to make it to the elimination stages but football can also be full of surprises. Harry Kane will now be facing a team that he could have ended up playing for in a mouthwatering Bayern Munich versus Manchester United tie. Arsenal will be playing in the Champions League for the first time after a seven-year absence in Europe's most coveted club competition. They were given a favorable draw in Group B as they will be facing Europa League winners Sevilla, Dutch club PSV, and France's Lens. Arsenal are the ‘big men’ in that group but Sevilla who are experienced in European competitions might pose a challenge to them. 

Reigning champions of the competition Manchester City might have a smooth sail to the round of 16 knockout stages as they have been paired with RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade, and Young Boys in Group G which seems to be an easy group for them. Young Boys are not as strong as they have been in recent years while RB Leipzig are working on a rebuild in their midfield. Manchester City are definitely happy to be in the same group with such teams. La Liga title holders, Barcelona have been drawn to Group H alongside Portuguese powerhouse FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Antwerp. The Catalonia giants look safe to sail into the next stage of the competition in that group but might face a challenging time playing against Porto who were very good in the previous campaign of the competition and Ukraine giants Shakhtar. 
 

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Real Madrid, who are the most successful club in the Champions League history have been drawn up against Serie A title holder Napoli, Portuguese giants Sporting Braga, and Union Gilloise of Belgium. The competition in Group C will be between the Los Blancos, Napoli, and Braga as they are the most likely to make it out of the group stages, Union is not such a strong team when it comes to such a kind of competition and it is highly unlikely that it will go past the group stages. Group E comprises La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, Serie A's Lazio, Scotland's League Celtic, and Turkish team Feyenoord. Atletico are the strong team in the group and will most likely finish at its top while Lazio and Celtic might fight for the second spot to make it into the round of 16. The final group, Group D consists of last season's runners-up Inter Milan, last campaign's quarterfinalists Benfica, Spanish giants Real Sociedad, and RB Salzburg. Inter Milan were beaten 1-0 in the final in May to hand over the cup to Manchester City and they will be aiming at having a good run again this season similar to the one they had in the last campaign. Benfica and Real Sociedad might fight off for the second spot of the group although Benfica has appeared to be a tough team to beat in the European competition in the recent past. In fact, Benfica and Napoli were the two teams who had a good run in the UEFA Champions League last season as the competition was approaching the second leg of the quarter-finals. 

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(Image: The Guardian)