Man City get favourable group stage draw as they learn Champions League opponents

Manchester City will face RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys in the Champions League group stage this season.

City won the Champions League for the first time last season so will seek to defend their title this season under Pep Guardiola. They have been dealt a favourable group that they will be expected to dominate, avoiding all the big names in the second and third pots such as Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan or AC Milan.

The Blues have faced Leipzig for the last two seasons - winning 6-3 at home in the 2021/22 group stage before losing 2-1 away. Last season, they drew 1-1 in Germany before blowing away the Bundesliga side 7-0 at home, with Erling Haaland scoring five times. Josko Gvardiol has swapped the Red Bull Arena for the Etihad over the summer.

City have never faced Serbian champions Red Star, nor Swiss champions Young Boys, travelling to the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade and the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern for the first time

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The group stage begins in three weeks time between Premier League fixtures against West Ham and Nottingham Forest on the week of September 18. The second fixture will be between trips to Wolves and Arsenal in the week commencing October 2.

After the October international break, the third fixture is between a tricky home clash with Brighton and the first derby of the season at Manchester United. That takes place on the week of October 23.

The fourth matchweek is after a home game with Bournemouth and before a trip to Chelsea on the week of November 6, with the penultimate fixture on the week commencing November 27 - sandwiched between home games with Tottenham and Liverpool.

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