Friday, when the draw for Europe's flagship club tournament is held in Monaco.
Thirty-two teams will be divided into eight groups for the opening phase of the competition, which Real Madrid won last time in an all-Spanish final with Valencia.
The draw will include favourites such as Real, 1999 winners Manchester United, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, along with relative minnows such as Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk and Sweden's Helsingborg, who ousted Inter Milan .
For the purposes of the draw, the names of the 32 clubs have been divided into four 'pots' of eight teams, ranked from one to four according to their track record.
Each pot will provide a team for each of the eight groups.
The system prevents two of the very strongest sides - or very weakest - being drawn together in the same group.
Teams for Champions League draw
Pot 1
Real Madrid (Spain, holders), Juventus (Italy), Barcelona
(Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Lazio (Italy), Manchester
United (England), Monaco (France), Valencia (Spain)
Pot 2
Spartak Moscow (Russia), Paris St Germain (France),
Olympique Lyon (France), AC Milan (Italy), Deportivo Coruna
(Spain), Arsenal (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands),
Galatasaray (Turkey)
Pot 3
Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Rosenborg Trondheim (Norway), Bayer
Leverkusen (Germany), Olympiakos Piraeus (Greece), Panathinaikos
(Greece), Leeds United (England), Sparta Prague (Czech
Republic), Rangers (Scotland)
Pot 4
Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Hamburg SV (Germany), Anderlecht
(Belgium), Besiktas (Turkey), Sturm Graz (Austria), Heerenveen
(Netherlands), Helsingborg (Sweden), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine).
Reuters
