Manchester United and Arsenal will avoid meeting Real Madrid in the second group phase, but Newcastle could be paired with the tournament favourites in the draw which takes place in Geneva at 10.30 this morning. United are guaranteed a rematch with Deportivo La Coruna - they finished with honours even in four games last season - and will meet Italian opposition in Juventus or Internazionale.
Arsenal will definitely confront Roma and either Barcelona or Valencia. Newcastle will face one of Real, Valencia and Barcelona, plus one of the two Milan clubs.
These deductions are possible because of UEFA seedings, and rules that teams from the same country cannot be drawn in the same group and sides who met in the first section cannot do so in the second.
The system should produce very even groups, but Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson must be pleased to have avoided holders Real Madrid, who have won Europe's top club competition a record nine times.
They have appeared in and won three of the last five finals, and have added Ronaldo to their other stars who include Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos.
Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque said: "We don't like being labelled favourites but we've had to learn to live with it. All it means is that we're given a degree of respect by our opponents."
The UEFA Cup draw will take place immediately after the Champions League draw and once again clubs from the same country will be kept apart.
Meanwhile, having again illustrated why his talents are increasingly prized with his two goals against Feyenoord in the Champions League on Wednesday, Craig Bellamy yesterday found himself torn between the two football parties that value him most.
Newcastle indicated they will rest him tomorrow in the Premiership against Southampton, and that means they will not release him for Wales' European Championship qualifier in Azerbaijan next Wednesday.
Bellamy has recently been out, after the fifth knee operation of his five-season career, and Wednesday's match in Rotterdam was his first in more than three weeks. His surgeon has told Newcastle to be careful with his recuperation, and Bobby Robson said yesterday: "We have told the Welsh FA that Craig can play one game a week until the knee settles down, until he says he feels he can cope with whatever the demands of the club are.
"That's why we have to look at it (tomorrow) and probably think about not playing him. The thing in my head is that we don't play him . . . We don't want any inflammation through overuse.
"Happily there was no adverse reaction to him playing 90 minutes on Wednesday; he lasted the game quite well. But while it is tempting to play him, maybe we shouldn't. I spoke to him briefly this morning and we talked about the possibility of him being a sub, but we'll look at that tomorrow.
"We have warned the Welsh FA and it is a question of dialogue. But we want him for Manchester United a week on Saturday. We paid quite a bit of money for Craig and we have played ball with the surgeon. It is our club policy and he will (stay with us). We will insist."
For the 23-year-old the dilemma represents further evidence of just how far he has come since his £6 million transfer from Coventry. As Robson said yesterday: "Nobody else would pay the money we did."
The only concern amid all this is the health of Robson, a 69-year-old with four fractured ribs. A couple of days in Spain should aid his recovery and he pondered on getting Barcelona in this morning's draw. "It'd be very nostalgic, full of memories. I'd love it."
