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  March 6, 2018 7:32 PM PST

  Manchester Citys new coach Pep Guardiola will be heading back to Barcelona after the Premier League club was pitted against his former team in the Champions League draw on Thursday. Chris Hogan Jersey .Guardiola, who also spent most of his playing career at the Catalan club, steered Barcelona to two Champions League titles as well as a number of other trophies during his time as coach from 2008-12.The two teams play each other on Oct. 19 in Barcelona and Nov. 1 in Manchester.Borussia Moenchengladbach and Celtic complete Group C.Cristiano Ronaldo also returns to his first club as holder Real Madrid has been drawn against Sporting Lisbon. Borussia Dortmund and Legia Warsaw are also in Group F.Surprise Premier League champion Leicester faces Porto, Brugge and FC Copenhagen in its first time in Europes premier competition.The eight four-team groups begin play on Sept. 13-14.---Group Aaris Saint-Germain and Arsenal will be favorites to progress but Basel boasts a fearsome record against English clubs in European competition.Neither team has ever won the European Cup but PSG reached the quarterfinals in the last four seasons. However, it is now without Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who moved to Manchester United in the offseason.Arsenal was eliminated in the round of 16 in the last six seasons.Since 2011, Basel has helped eliminate Manchester United and Liverpool from the Champions League, as well as knocking Tottenham out of the Europa League.Ludogorets is playing in the group stages for only the second time in the Bulgarian clubs history, having reached the same stage two years ago.---Group B:Napoli will be hoping for better luck than the last time they reached the group stages.In 2013/14, Napoli became the first -- and so far only -- team to fail to progress after picking up 12 points, losing out to Dortmund and Arsenal in a three-way head-to-head.It should have an easier time this campaign, as it has been pitted against Benfica, Dynamo Kiev and Besiktas.---Group C:While Guardiola will be highly familiar with Barcelona, many of Citys players will also know the Catalan club well.Barcelona beat City at the last-16 stage in 2014 and 2015, while goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has just completed a move from the Spanish champion to Guardiolas new side.Its good for Pep because he knows Borussia very well from his time at Bayern and Barcelona as well so we will see, Citys Director of Football Txiki Begiristain said.He had been back to Barca before with Bayern Munich so its not the first time hes been returned to the Camp Nou. Barcelona will start as favorites for the group but that is nothing new, they are a fantastic side.City also played Moenchengladbach in the group stage last year en route to the semifinals.Celtic will be hoping for a repeat of the 2012-13 season when it managed a shock 2-1 home win over Barcelona 2-1 in the group stage.---Group D:Bayern Munich will be out for revenge when it faces Atletico Madrid after losing to the Spanish side on away goals in last seasons semifinals.In May, Atletico lost the final on penalties to Real Madrid -- finishing runner-up to its bitter rival for the second time in three years.Contrasting sides in PSV Eindhoven and Rostov make up the group.PSV has played regularly in European competition since the 1970s, while it is Russian side Rostovs maiden appearance in the European Cup.---Group E:A group where anyone could win it or finish bottom.None of the teams have ever won the competition although Leverkusen and Monaco have both reached the final -- in 2002 and 2004 respectively.Tottenham last played in the Champions League in 2010-11, reaching the quarterfinals, while CSKA Moscow made a group stage exit in 2013-14.---Group F:Matches between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund are swift becoming classics.Madrid beat Dortmund in the quarterfinals in 2014, avenging its semifinal defeat the previous campaign.No team has successfully defended the Champions League since its inception in 1992 but Madrid forward Gareth Bale hopes his side can become the first to do so, with the final being staged in his home city of Cardiff.It would be amazing to experience a Champions League final in Cardiff, Bale said. It is obviously a difficult group but it always is in the Champions League. We fancy our chances to get through but we know there are going to be some difficult games.Meanwhile, as well as providing a former player in Ronaldo, Sporting had more players than any other club in Portugals Euro 2016-winning squad -- Rui Patricio, Joao Mario, William Carvalho and Adrien Silva.Legia Warsaw completes the group, becoming Polands first team in the Champions League proper in 20 years.---Group G:Apart from two-time winner Porto, Group G is devoid of Champions League pedigree.Leicester, which was in the third tier of English football in 2009, is making its debut in the competition.Copenhagen reached the last 16 in 2010/11, one of only four previous times it has made it into the Champions League proper, while Brugge has also had only sporadic appearances in the group stages.---Group H:Juventus and Sevilla face each other in the group stages for the second successive season.Juventus beat Sevilla 2-0 at home but lost 1-0 in Spain, which meant it finished second in the group and faced Bayern Munich in the last 16 rather than Dinamo Kiev. The Turin side lost after extra time in the second leg in Germany.We missed an opportunity at Sevilla last year, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri wrote on Twitter. It will be a red-hot atmosphere in Lyon and Zagreb: we need to be focused, we know our aim.Sevilla was eliminated from the Champions League and went on to win the Europa League for the third season in a row.Lyon completes the group along with Dinamo Zagreb, which established one of the worst records in a group stage campaign, having lost all six games with a goal difference of minus 19 in 2011. Matthew Slater Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Cameron Fleming Jersey . LUCIE, Fla. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseyselite.com/?tag=cheap-shea-mcclellin-jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique.Aston Villa boss Remi Garde admitted defeat to Stoke was difficult to take as they edged ever closer to relegation from the Premier League. Villas survival mission looks ever more impossible as they remain seven points adrift of the pack after a Marko Arnautovic double helped City to a 2-1 victory at the Britannia Stadium.Their 17th league defeat in 27 matches this season was a familiar tale, with defensive deficiencies and attacking ineptitude paving the way for the loss Although Garde felt his side recovered from their 6-0 thrashing against Liverpool in their previous match, he admitted their soft centre eventually cost them.It was a very difficult defeat [to take], the Frenchman told Sky Sports.I think we played quite well in the first half, we defended well and created chances, but we know that it is difficult for us to create chances at the moment. A Villa supporter holds a banner protesting against owner Randy Lerner We started slowly in the first 15 minutes of the second half and conceded the penalty and then the second one was a strange goal [which] for me is the fragility of the team.The travelling Villa supporters vented their anger at the clubs owner by chanting Randy Lerner out, but Garde insists it did not distract his players.Not at all a distraction for me, he said. I was concentrating on the game and I think the players [were] doing the same. Leandro Bacuna says a sloppy start to the second half was costly This is not part of our job to comment on the situation. Blue Patriots Jerseys. My job is to concentrate on the job. I try to keep this team as high as I can with the tools that I have got and Im only focused on that. Im not here to comment on any other things.Weve improved our team spirit on what we have done, or not done, in this game.We were at the same level we were at before the Liverpool game, but then we were without our attacking forward, so didnt create enough. Also See: Stoke 2-1 Aston Villa As it happened Garde questions squads commitment Villa fixtures ' ' '