MANCHESTER City have been drawn against Schalke, Paris St Germain, Racing Santander and FC Twente in the Uefa Cup group stages.
The Blues will come up against former England boss Steve McClaren who is now boss of Dutch side Twente in Group A, and the top three sides will progress.
Blues chief operating officer Paul Aldridge told
www.mcfc.co.uk: "There were some big names in this draw and every group was a tough one but we're up against good teams from Spain, France, Germany and Holland.
"Mark [Hughes] will know a fair bit about all of the teams we're up against already, and that's a big plus for us, but they'll all be tough games."
City will travel to Schalke and Racing Santander while PSG and Twente will come to Eastlands.
City will have Matchday 1 (Thursday October 23) free and will face FC Twente at home on Thursday November 6. They then travel to face Schalke three weeks later, before PSG visit Eastlands on Wednesday December 3. Finally the Blues face Racing Santander away on Thursday December 18.
PSG are 11th in France's Ligue 1, Schalke are fifth in Germany's Bundesliga, Racing Santander lie 14th in La Liga while Twente are eighth in Holland's Eredivisie.
McClaren was looking forward to the meetings with City and Schalke - now coached by his predecessor Fred Rutten.
“It’s a fantastic draw for the fans, for the club and for the players,” he told Sky Sports News.
“It’s one of the toughest draws, but we’ve got a great draw and it’s very exciting.”
Asked for his reaction to coming up against City, McClaren added: “I’ve just come back to England to catch up on football here, and the signings Man City have made are massive and they are expected to do very well. It should be a fantastic occasion for us."
UEFA CUP GROUP PHASE DRAW
GROUP A
Schalke, Paris St Germain,
Manchester City, Racing Santander, FC Twente.
GROUP B
Benfica, Olympiacos, Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin, Metalist Kharkiv.
GROUP C
Sevilla, Stuttgart, Sampdoria, Partizan Belgrade, Standard Liege.
GROUP D
Tottenham, Spartak Moscow, Udinese, Dinamo Zagreb, NEC Nijmegen.
GROUP E
AC Milan, Heerenveen, Braga, Portsmouth, Wolfsburg.
GROUP F
Hamburg, Ajax, Slavia Prague, Aston Villa, MSK Zilina.
GROUP G
Valencia, Club Bruges, Rosenborg, FC Copenhagen, St Etienne.
GROUP H
CSKA Moscow, Deportivo La Coruna, Feyenoord, Nancy, Lech Poznan.
:: Each team plays two matches at home and two away, with the top three teams from each group qualifying for the last 32.
:: Ties to be played on October 23, November 6, November 27, December 3/4 and December 17/18.
Will City win the UEFA Cup? Have your say.
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The Original Blue John (07/10/2008 at 09:21)
Standard Liege are in the fifth pot for heaven's sake, so a group of death awaits someone. Let's hope it's Spurs!
Eric, Dutch,, 33 years and still here (07/10/2008 at 09:22)
Group 1: AC Milan, Sevilla, Valencia, Benfica, Schalke 04, CSKA Moscow, Tottenham Hotspur, and Hamburger SV.
Group 2: VfB Stuttgart, Ol. Piraeus, Dep. la Coruña, Club Bruges, Sp. Moscow, Paris SG, Ajax and Heerenveen.
Group 3: Rosenborg, Udinese, Feyenoord, Sp.Braga, Slavia Prague, Galatasaray, Sampdoria, and MAN.CITY.
Group 4: Hertha Berlin, Part. Belgrade, AS Nancy, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Rac.Santander, Copenhagen, Dynamo Zagreb
Group 5: St-Etienne, VFL Wolfsburg, St. Liege, FC Twente, NEC, Met.Kharkiv, Lech Poznan, and MSK Zilina.
No matter how City scraped through, we are in the groupstages and it will be very interesting to find out the draw.
Eric, Dutch, 33 years and still here, 3/10/2008 at 11:51
Editor, it would only have taken you to copy and stick. Much better for the ones who visit here and see what groups are to be formed.
As for myself, I hope for awaygames in Holland, Belgium, Northern France or Germany, and hometies vs the big guns in seeded-group 1 and 2.
Blue Dragon, Cloud 9 (07/10/2008 at 09:27)
Who knows, it will be tough, but while were still in it, anything's possible.
If Rangers can get to the final, don't see why City can't!
Alec G Moonshiner, Kendal (07/10/2008 at 09:32)
A Manc and blue (07/10/2008 at 09:37)
Phil Neal's Laxative (07/10/2008 at 09:40)
I'm looking forward to some great games. We're going to be tested to the limit, but we're also going to play some interesting sides - especially the Bundesliga and La Liga opposition we may get (but hopefully avoiding Kaka & Co. for now).
Who can explain the format to me though? We play four games, two at home and two away. But who do we play at home and who away? And how is this decided? I'll hold my hands up and admit this has got me stumped.
proudtobeblue (07/10/2008 at 09:46)
RJKS, St Retford (07/10/2008 at 09:53)
muscles, carrington (07/10/2008 at 09:59)
Onwards and upwards.
Reidus, Cambridge (07/10/2008 at 10:23)
A Manc and blue (07/10/2008 at 10:31)
RJKS, St Retford
7/10/2008 at 09:53
Bit lost. Working on that theory if your in pot 5 everyone is seeded above you so do you play four away or if your in pot four three away one at home. I AM LOST!
Pint of Middle Eastlands, please!, Audenshaw (07/10/2008 at 10:32)
It's been noted before that we are given more space in a European game, and that suits our attacking style.
It should bode us well to progress. I mean, we only need to finish third, and then get drawn against a Chumps League fallout in February. So, that could be Celtic, Marseille, etc.
Easy peasey. Istanbul we are coming...
LisbonCasual, Portugal (07/10/2008 at 10:33)
City Fan, Melkbosstrand, Cape Town (07/10/2008 at 10:35)
Also, who didn't shake the can of Anthracite Hammerite before they spray painted the trophy.
expat blue-sat in bar sio8, a-u-l (07/10/2008 at 10:37)
PhilB65, City Forever (07/10/2008 at 10:39)
blue believer!!!, gt yarmouth (07/10/2008 at 10:50)
If were in a good position come jan then i believe we can go all the way. Fitness will be a huge factor and in MH we have the best fitness monger there is just look at blackburn, fittest team in the league unger MH. This is one hard competition.
I believe!!!!
CTWD eh?
Rob South Stand Blue, Crewe (07/10/2008 at 11:05)
Milan, Ajax, City, Hertha Berlin & Liege/Wolfsburg... Can't wait! CTID
BristolStevefromOldham, bristol (07/10/2008 at 11:10)
Bluereed my voice only (07/10/2008 at 11:23)
A Manc and blue (07/10/2008 at 11:27)
Rob South Stand Blue, Crewe (07/10/2008 at 11:30)
bbcity Caboolture Au (07/10/2008 at 11:34)
Bluereed my voice only (07/10/2008 at 11:34)
ekuldot (07/10/2008 at 11:34)