What you need to know about the Champions League draw

The 24 teams vying for 2016-17 European glory were placed into their groups Thursday as UEFA had its draw for the 2016 Champions League season.

Who are the teams that will look to replicate the drama Spanish giants Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid displayed in May when the group stage begins this September? There are the obvious teams that will emerge, but we take a look at the few destined to surprise and the rest that are just happy to be apart of one of the world’s greatest tournaments.

Group A:

• Paris Saint-Germain (France)
• Arsenal (England)
• FC Basel (Switzerland)
• Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria)

Overview: PSG and Arsenal look like the early favorites to advance to the knockout round, but Swiss champion FC Basel is always a threat in the group stage, qualifying for their sixth, the latest after a round of 16 finish in the UEFA Europa League.

Definitely the favorite, PSG will be without dynamo striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined Manchester United on a free transfer, but PSG is still a mighty group and the early favorite.

Arsenal is still shaking things out in the EPL, so the question is will it find that streak in time for the first group match in September?

Favorite to win group: Paris Saint-Germain

Dark Horse: FC Basel

Group B:

• Benfica (Portugal)
• Napoli (Italy)
• Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
• Beşiktaş (Turkey)

Overview: Dynamo Kyiv is the reigning Ukrainian champion. Now, that might not sound like much, but watching this group go toe-to-toe into the round of 16 with other European heavyweights, this is a club that takes this competition very seriously.

Benfica always shows well in this competition and is led by a quarterfinal run in the tournament last season. Napoli is a tough opponent and can shock in this group stage, the same with Besiktas, but neither may not have enough to emerge.

Favorite to win group: Benfica

Dark horse: Napoli

Group C:

• Barcelona (Spain)
• Manchester City (England)
• Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany)
• Celtic (Scotland)

Overview: This is most certainly the “Group of Death” in this year’s tournament with three dominant heavyweights in world football. Led by a star-studded cast headlined by Lionel Messi and Neymar, expect Barcelona as an early favorite to win the group.

Both Man City and Celtic, however, will be right on their heels with City coach Pep Guardiola knowing the “Barca way” real well, leading the Spanish giants to a few Champions Leauge titles of his own.

Favorite to win group: Barcelona

Dark horse: Celtic

Group D:

• Bayern München (Germany)
• Atlético Madrid (Spain)
• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
• Rostov (Russia)

Overview: Another tough group of champions, Munich and its robotic corps of attacking players in Robert Lewandowski and Douglas Costa could be seen as the odds-on favorites here, but Atletico is a team assuredly on a mission. After coming up small in last season’s final to Madrid for the second time in two seasons, this is a team that’s looking to make a return to that final but not become the Buffalo Bills of world soccer.

Eindhoven will pester, and Rostov will look to show it belongs,  qualifying after a 5-2 aggregate beat down of Netherlands' Ajax.

Favorite to win group: Bayern Munich/Atletico Madrid (tie)

Dark horse: PSV Eindhoven

Group E:

• CSKA Moskva (Russia)
• Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
• Tottenham Hotspur (England)
• Monaco (France)

Overview: Look at this group as a collection of middleweight contenders because that’s exactly what it is. CSKA is the only team here that finished last season as a league champion but bowed out in the group stage of this competition.

Monaco enters as the third best team in France’s Ligue 1 and entered winning a playoff match. Tottenham could also make noise in this tournament but as a sleeper, as the Champions League hasn’t really been this club’s finest hour, qualifying for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Favorite to win group: CSKA Moscow

Dark horse: Monaco

Group F:

• Real Madrid (Spain)
• Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
• Sporting CP (Portugal)
• Legia Warszawa (Poland)

Overview: The reigning European champions should have little trouble getting out of the group, but expect Dortmund to be the only team to contend for the top spot, whether or not it wins it. Madrid is led by a star-studded cast, including reigning European Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo (announced Thursday) and former Madrid great turned Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.

Dortmund may have lost its head coach in Jurgen Klopp to Liverpool last season, but Dortmund has remained one of the best teams in Germany — and to be honest, in Europe. Sporting is one of Portugal’s perennial best, and Warsaw, well… yeah.

Favorite to win group: Real Madrid

Dark horse: Sporting CP

Group G:

• Leicester City (England)
• Porto (Portugal)
• Club Brugge (Belgium)
• FC Copenhagen (Denmark)

Overview: Leicester shocked the world last season as 5,000-1 favorites to win the English Premier League. But many wonder if manager Claudio Ranieri’s team has the clout to replicate that success on a world stage against Europe’s best.

Porto will look to pop Leicester’s bubble as the oddsmakers' favorite to win this group, while both Brugge and Copenhagen will land points but most likely not enough to emerge to the knockout stages.

Favorite to win group: FC Porto

Dark horse: FC Copenhagen

Group H:

• Juventus (Italy)
• Sevilla (Spain)
• Lyon (France)
• Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Overview: Juventus is a much different team with the loss French star Paul Pogba to Manchester United, but Lyon finished second behind PSG in Ligue 1 last season and is looking to move past the group stage as it was unable to last season.

Sevilla will contend but has perennially been in the shadows of Spain’s “Big 3.” Finally, expect Zagreb to pull off a surprise win in the group stage, but that’s about it.

Favorites to win group: Juventus

Dark horse: Sevilla