GENEVA (AP) – Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid will join England's elite clubs Manchester United and Chelsea as among
the top seeded teams in Thursday's Champions League group stage draw.
Inter Milan, the 2010 winner which lost its title to Barcelona, also heads one of eight four-team groups to be drawn in Monaco.
AC Milan needs Serie A rival Udinese to eliminate high-ranked Arsenal in Wednesday's playoffs for the seven-time European champions
to avoid dropping into the pot of No. 2 seeded teams.
Big-spending Manchester City seems the most dangerous opponent of the third-seeded clubs. Rankings are based on performance in UEFA's
competitions in the past five seasons, and Man City has played in the second-tier Europa League just twice in that span.
Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund, which won the 1997 Champions League, returns after a nine-year absence as a No. 4 seeded side.
With UEFA rules preventing clubs from the same country being placed in the same group, a foursome of Barcelona, Milan, Man City and
Dortmund would shapes as a tough and glamorous potential group.
The fourth-seeded pot also includes Napoli, which last played in the old-style European Cup 21 years ago, while Romanian champion Otelul Galati
will make its debut.
Turkish champion şikebahçe takes its place despite being under suspicion in a widespread match-fixing investigation at home.
UEFA has promised that any club found guilty of corrupting matches will be kicked out of its marquee competition and have its results
wiped from the record.
''UEFA is working very hard behind the scenes to ride the game of these threats,'' general secretary Gianni Infantino said at the playoffs draw
this month. ''We will not hesitate to prosecute any individual, any official or any club.''http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2011/08/24/europes-elite-clubs-await-champions-league-draw/
