Champions League takes on less predictable look

GROUP B THRILLS

This time the thrills could start in Group B featuring Manchester United, VfL Wolfsburg, CSKA Moscow and PSV.

PSV will want to show Dutch club football is alive and kicking, Wolfsburg were Bundesliga runners-up last season and CSKA came through a dramatic playoff against Sporting Lisbon.

While United should go through, they will not want to depend on getting a result in their final match at Wolfsburg.

Atletico Madrid should progress from Group C, leaving Galatasaray and Benfica to scrap for second place with Kazakh outsiders Astana adding an exotic touch.

There are no clear favourites in Group D where Serie A champions and last season's runners-up Juventus could struggle after the departures of Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal.

City's poor European record has shown that Premier League status and riches do not guarantee Champions League success.

Europa League winners Sevilla are seasoned campaigners with a talented coach in Unai Emery and outsiders Moenchengladbach are capable of springing an upset.

Holders Barcelona should cruise through Group E but there is likely to be a fascinating battle for second place between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma.

BATE Borisov of Belarus are unlikely to qualify but could throw a spanner in the works of Leverkusen and Roma, having beaten Bayern Munich and Athletic Bilbao in recent years.

Chelsea should dominate Group G although Porto are always dangerous opponents with a knack of replenishing the team after selling their top players.

Porto, however, are by no means certain to get the better of Dynamo Kiev having recently sold Alex Sandro, Danilo and Jackson Martinez.

Last season Kiev wrested the Ukrainian Premier League title from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Zenit St Petersburg, who as Russian league champions avoided the likes of Barcelona and Bayern, drew Valencia, Olympique Lyonnais and Ghent in Group H where two of the first three have a realistic chance of advancing.