Champions League draw simulated with Man Utd handed group of death, Arsenal facing Barcelona test and two all-Brit ties

MANCHESTER UNITED and Arsenal were handed nightmare Champions League group stages by the SunSport simulator.

The number-crunching machine projected the possible outcome of Thursday’s draw in Monaco.

The final six teams in the group stages will be decided by this week’s qualification play-offs.

Rangers are hoping to see off PSV while Galatasaray and Copenhagen have high hopes of booking their place in the 2023-24 Champions League.

As a result, the clubs in pots three and four are yet to be finalised.

So SunSport filled the remaining six spots with the teams we think are likely to go through and entered all the teams into our electronic brain box.

And the outcome churned out was a brutal one for the English teams – especially United and Arsenal.

Both in pot two, the Red Devils were pitted against Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, seven-time winners AC Milan and Scottish giants Celtic in a staggering group of death in Group B.

As for Mikel Arteta, he must prepare to try and qualify for the knockout stages despite facing boyhood club Barcelona following their fiery pre-season showdown, a blockbuster Battle of Britain with Rangers and a hostile trip to Turkey to take on Galatasaray.

Holders Manchester City have a repeat of their memorable June final against Inter Milan as well as the seemingly-annual ties against Shakhtar Donetsk, plus Kieran Tierney’s Real Sociedad in Group F.

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And it is a case of being thrown back in at the deep end as Newcastle make their Champions League return after 20 years.

The Magpies have the small task of taking on heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, 14-time winners Real Madrid with Jude Bellingham shining in midfield and Red Star Belgrade from Serbia in Group C.

Elsewhere, Napoli and Porto headline Group A, with Sevilla and RB Leipzig set to battle it out for top spot in Group D.

Lens will not fancy their chances in Group G with Feyenoord, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio.

And Union Berlin may struggle to get anything out of Benfica, Atletico Madrid and Copenhagen in Group H.

The real draw is set to get underway with the traditional rigmarole at 5pm on Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum.

Fans can watch the action unfold for free on the Uefa website.

The six group-stage matchdays will take place between September 19 and December 13 with TNT Sports holding the UK broadcast rights.

The Europa League draw – featuring Liverpool, West Ham and Brighton – and the Europa Conference League draw with Aston Villa take place on Friday.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk