Champions League draw highlights

Yesterday saw millions of footie fans across the globe waiting excitedly for the draw for the group stages of the Champions League. And it didn't disappoint - the draw threw up some nice groups and some interesting games to look forward to. We have to wait until the middle of September (the 14th and 15th to be precise) for the Champions League to officially kick off, but now we know who's facing who the wait just got a little more intense...

So, the most interesting group? I guess that depends on who you support, but for the neutral, Champions League Group G, with AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre looks like the toughest, the group which could spring up some surprises and some very tough battles. Real Madrid will be looking to The Special One, Jose Mourinho, to weave his magic spell over a team that has spectacularly disappointed in Europe over the past few years. An extra little bit of spice to throw into the mix is the fact that Mourinho is the ex-boss of Inter, AC Milan's cross town rivals. We predict AC Milan and Real Madrid to go through, with Auxerre the surprise team of the group, pushing the big boys close. Who knows, maybe they can even repeat Bordeaux's Champions League efforts from last season.

The easiest group? Well, it looks like Barcelona and Manchester United have struck lucky. Barcelona have Rubin Kazan (who actually beat them last season at the Nou Camp!) but the Danish team Copenhagen and Greek side Panathinaikos shouldn't cause too many problems. Manchester United can feel a little relief with their group, what with Valencia the only real toughie for them. The so called Battle of Britain with Scottish team Rangers won't really live up to the hype will it, as we know the Scots are fairly hopeless in Europe. Of course, saying that, they will now go on to beat United 3-0 at Old Trafford .

And the new boys? The biggest name to join the list of debutants is probably Spurs, and they're going to find it very tough, with Werder Bremen, Inter Milan and FC Twente their opponents. In this their first ever Champions League season, it looks just a bit too much. Old Harry (Redknapp) might get a little twitchy on the sidelines, but I don't think he can expect too much. As for the other new boys in this season's Champions League, I think they're just here for the ride. For example, can Hapoel Tel Aviv outdo their Israeli league rivals from last season, Maccabi Haifa, who didn't score a goal or grab a single point? And can MSK Zilina do any better? It's going to be interesting to watch these new faces, but the experience gained by the Big Boys will be worth its weight in gold, as it usually is...

Don't forget to head on over to the Champions League section to start putting your prediction skills to the test!