Man City wary of lurking European giants

The road to Wembley sounds familiar enough but it promises to be an assault course for Manchester City. The Premier League title-holders could today find themselves drawn in a Champions League group with the champions of Spain, Italy and Germany as Europe's elite embark on a journey towards London and the
May 25 final.

City's relative ingenu status in the Champions League has ensured their co-efficient restricts them to Pot Two while Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are among the top seeds for today's draw in Monaco. Last season, City found themselves pitted against Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli, a daunting draw that eventually proved too much.

They even suffered the indignity of Carlos Tevez refusing to warm up against Bayern, although the newly sleek and focused striker is now one reason for self-belief in the City ranks.

Roberto Mancini's men can still take some comfort from last season's Champions League experience. In finishing third, City managed 10 points, including a home win over Bayern, that would have guaranteed their ticket to the Round of 16 in four of the other groups.

They could be thrown in against Real Madrid, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund in what would be an all-champion group. All eyes will be on who City are drawn against from Pot One, namely Barcelona, Bayern, Porto, AC Milan as well as Real. All of the pairings would conjure up fascinating sub-plots.

Real Madrid would bring that firecracker of a coach Jose Mourinho to the Etihad, an enticing prospect for Mario Balotelli, who fell out with the Special One at Inter Milan.

After one disagreement, Mourinho famously left Balotelli at home when Inter travelled to Chelsea in 2010. Mourinho wore a face of thunder when Balotelli's name was mentioned in the pre-match press conference at the Bridge.

Sergio Aguero should have recovered in time and would ineviatably receive a feisty reception at the Bernabeu given his Atletico Madrid roots. Just as Cristiano Ronaldo, formerly of the Old Trafford parish, could expect to experience in City's stronghold.

A draw with Barcelona would see Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy facing old Arsenal team-mates like Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song. It would be particularly pertinent for Yaya Toure, tackling his old Barcelona colleagues. It would be a test for David Silva, playing against many of his gilded Spanish compatriots.

It would also provide a huge test of Mancini's tactical nous in working out how to negate the sublime influence of Lionel Messi. And Xavi. And Andres Iniesta.

Overlooking the limitations of the former City defender Daniel van Buyten, Bayern bring the old threat of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery and the new menace of the elegant Javi Martinez, newly recruited from Athletic Bilbao.

Mancini would have liked to have drafted in a formidable versatile talent like Martinez, a player at home at centre-half and particularly midfield. Jack Rodwell, City's new midfielder, got a close-up glimpse of Martinez's class when coming off the bench for England against Spain in the European Under-21 Championships in Herning in 2011.

As a former Inter coach, Mancini knows San Siro well but could expect a spiky reception committee if City are drawn against AC Milan. The spotlight will also be on Robinho, the Brazilian whose City career fizzled out in surreal fashion at Scunthorpe United in the FA Cup.

He scored and then impersonated an aeroplane as if to signal his impending take-off to destinations anew. There is always a story when Balotelli travels and he has frequently been linked with Milan, the club he followed as a schoolboy.

Of all the Pot One opponents, City would probably prefer to be drawn against Porto, whom they overwhelmed in the Europa League last season.

As well as offering another marvelous trip for their fans to one of the most historic watering-holes on the European circuit, the Stadio Dragao is up amongst the Continent's most stunning stadiums.

Porto still pose a threat, particularly if they retain the heavyweight services of Joao Moutinho and particularly Hulk. City will hope that Uefa have brought some balance to their disciplinary process, having fined City 30,000 for being a minute late for the second half while fining Porto only 20,000 for their fans' abuse of Balotelli and Yaya Toure.

If City have the most nervous moments during today's draw in Monaco, then Chelsea, United and Arsenal will beware certain Pot Two possibilities, including Valencia, Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk. Even Pot Three offers such awkward assignments as Juventus.

The most appealing of the Pot Four entrants are FC Nordsjaelland, who play at the 10,000-capacity Farum Park outside Copenhagen.

Known as the Wild Tigers, the Danes would still prove less dangerous opposition that the fourth seeds that City ran into last year, Napoli.

The Italians pipped City to second and the impact was felt on the Etihad's ego and income.

Chelsea, who survived their ordeal with Napoli, raked in pounds 47.5 million from winning the Champions League, or enough to buy Eden Hazard and Victor Moses with a few million to spare.

City generated only pounds 20 million, effectively Rodwell plus pounds 8 million, for going out in the group stage.