The ultimate prize

Skysports.com runs through what you can expect from Thursday's UEFA Champions League draw.

Monaco's Grimaldi Forum will provide the glittering backdrop to the most anticipated day of the season so far.

With Edwin van der Sar's penalty heroics for Manchester United, and Chelsea skipper John Terry's resulting tears still fresh in the memory, it is time to find out how the long road to Rome will begin.

The Eternal City will play host to the final showdown in this year's competition on 27th May 2009, but who will be there and who will they see off on the way?

Sixteen teams gained direct entry into the Champions League via last season's league standings, while the same number progressed through Tuesday and Wednesday's qualifiers.

In all, 17 nations will be represented in Europe's premier club competition, with some notable new-comers to the party.

Uefa Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg make their bow, FC BATE Borisov are the first Belarussian outfit to reach this stage, while Anorthosis Famagusta represent the inaugural Cypriot qualifiers.

As usual the 32 teams are split into four seeding pots, with one team from each pot being placed into the eight groups, though no two sides from the same country can appear in the same group.

Unsurprisingly, given English football's dominance of the tournament last season - providing three of the four semi-finalists - the Premier League can boast the strongest hand heading into the draw.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are all included in Pot 1, alongside fellow European heavyweights Barcelona, Lyon, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

Pot 2 looks equally as imposing, with former winners Bayern Munich, Porto and Juventus being joined by PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal, Roma, Werder Bremen and Sporting Lisbon.

Moving on to Pot 3 and we find yet more former champions, as Marseille, Steaua Bucharest and Celtic are included alongside Zenit St Petersburg, Panathinaikos, Bordeaux, Basel and Fenerbahce.

Such is the strength of the competition that Pot 4 includes powerhouses such as Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev.

They are joined in the final grouping by Aalborg, CFR 1907 Cluj and the two survivors from the first round of qualifying FC BATE Borisov and Anorthosis Famagusta.

The first round of matches in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League are set to take place on 16/17 September, with the fixtures continuing on 30 September/ 1 October, 21/22 October, 4/5 November, 25/26 November and 9/10 December.

The top two from each group will then go into the second round draw on 19th December while those claiming third spot will drop into the Uefa Cup.

Full seeding list for Thursday's draw:

Pot 1:

1. Manchester United (ENG, holders)

2. Chelsea (ENG)

3. Liverpool (ENG)

4. Barcelona (ESP)

5. Arsenal (ENG)

6. Lyon (FRA)

7. Inter Milan (ITA)

8. Real Madrid (ESP)

Pot 2:

9. Bayern Munich (GER)

10. PSV Eindhoven (NED)

11. Villarreal (ESP)

12. Roma (ITA)

13. Porto (POR)

14. Werder Bremen (GER)

15. Sporting Lisbon (POR)

16. Juventus (ITA)

Pot 3:

17. Marseille (FRA)

18. Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)

19. Steaua Bucharest (ROU)

20. Panathinaikos (GRE)

21. Bordeaux (FRA)

22. Celtic (SCO)

23. Basel (SUI)

24. Fenerbahce (TUR)

Pot 4:

25. Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

26. Fiorentina (ITA)

27. Atletico Madrid (ESP)

28. Dynamo Kiev (UKR)

29. CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU)

30. Aalborg (DEN)

31. Anorthosis Famagusta (CYP)

32. FC BATE Borisov (BLR)