Manchester City Champions League group: Pep Guardiola's side drawn with Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord

Pep Guardiola's side face trips to Ukraine, Italy and the Netherlands

Jack Austin
Thursday 24 August 2017 13:16 EDT
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A trip to the Ukraine is the biggest negative for Guardiola
A trip to the Ukraine is the biggest negative for Guardiola (Getty)

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Manchester City have been handed one of the more straightforward draws they have received in the Champions League Group Stages, with Napoli arguably the toughest trip.

City are looking to finally make the Champions League final this season under Pep Guardiola after some near misses, including being knocked out by Monaco last season.

Guardiola’s side were in Pot 2, meaning they were open to facing the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich, so were dealt a hand of good fortune in Shakhtar Donetsk – although it does mean a long trip to Ukraine.

Napoli, who performed well in Serie A last season on their way to a third-place finish, look likely to be City’s biggest threat and were one of the more tricky sides in Pot 3.

Feyenoord were Pot 4’s offering to Group F, with the short trip to the Netherlands being more than welcome with a journey to Ukraine in the offing.

The group stages of the competition begin on 12-13 September.

It's the first time in 10 years that six British sides have qualified for the Champions League with Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Celtic all also through to the group stages.

Back in 2008 Arsenal and Rangers also qualified and the final was won by Sir Alex Ferguson's United, who beat Avram Grant's Chelsea on penalties in Russia.

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