UEFA Champions League Matchday One - How will British Teams fare in the Champions League?

The draws from the group stage of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League have taken place and there is no shortage of British interest in European competition.

Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle will represent the Premier League in Europe’s top tournament this season, while Celtic make it five British sides involved in this year’s competition.

City lifted the Champions League trophy last term while West Ham won the Conference League, and British sides will be hoping for more success this term.

Here we look at how they may fare in the Champions League.

Citizens housed in comfortable section

Manchester City are the 43/20 champions league favourites to lift the Champions League trophy and it’s easy to see why. Pep Guardiola’s men were clearly the best side in Europe last season, and they are likely to settle into the competition even more, after claiming their first Champions League title last term.

City have also beefed up their squad with the signings of Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes, while they look to have benefited from a kind group-stage draw.

The defending champions line up with RB Leipzig, Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade and they are 1/16 favourites to win the group.

Clearly, tougher tests will await Guardiola’s men in the knockout stages but City are worthy Champions League favourites.

In their opening fixture, Manchester City take on Red Star Belgrade and in this scenario, we believe that Manchester City will win this game 3-0.

Gunners can fire back in the big time

Arsenal are interesting contenders. The Gunners were the only side to challenge Man City domestically last season and Mikel Arteta has added Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber to a talented and improving squad.

There is a slight worry about the depth of quality in north London, but if Arsenal can avoid any major injuries, they could be set for a deep European run.

The Gunners are 23/2 to lift the trophy on their return to Europe’s top competition, and they should at the very least progress from a section containing Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and Lens.

In their opening fixture, Arsenal take on PSV and they should dominate the game but PSV will be dangerous on the counter-attack, we think Arsenal should win this game 2-0..

United could be pulled apart

Manchester United have question marks surrounding their prospects this term and their efforts in the early stages of the Premier League season do not suggest that they will have the answers.

The Red Devils are 19/1 to win the Champions League and a group-stage draw alongside Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Copenhagen doesn’t look entirely straightforward.

Erik ten Hag will hope that new signing Rasmus Hojlund can provide some much-needed goalscoring output, but the Red Devils look to be playing for second behind Bayern Munich and more European glory looks unlikely.

This could be a dreadful game for Manchester United, they face Bayern Munich in their home and with Harry Kane up-front and Manchester United's poor form, a close game will be a good one for Manchester United. However, we can see this finishing 4-1 to Bayern Munich.

Newcastle handed difficult draw

Newcastle will be buzzing to return to European competition and there’s no doubt that the St James’ Park faithful will make it difficult for their Champions League opponents.

However, being drawn alongside Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund is just about as tough as it gets in the group stage, and the 12/5 on offer about the Magpies winning the section looks a little too optimistic.

The Magpies go into this game with a few injuries and beginning their Champions League journey with a trip to the San Siro is about as hard as it gets. We think they'll take the lead on the counter-attack but AC Milan will have too much quality and win 2-1.

Celtic heading for an early exit

Celtic failed to win any of their six Champions League group-stage matches last season, in a section containing Real Madrid, Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk and more disappointment may be forthcoming.

It’s Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord for the Bhoys this year, and while that looks marginally easier, the Hoops are without excellent manager Ange Postecoglou.

Offers of 21/2 about the Hoops topping the group indicate a tough task. But we can't see them winning any game in the Champions League this year and we think they'll go down 3-0 to Feyenoord in their opening game.