Manchester United and Arsenal will be among the eight top seeds in tomorrow's draw for the Champions League group stage in Monaco.
Chelsea's victory over Slovakian side MSK Zilina means they will be one of the eight second-seeded sides in the draw in Monaco, while Celtic and Rangers will almost certainly be in the third-seeded pot.
The seedings are decided by UEFA's club coefficients - determined by a team's performances in European football over the last five years and the displays of club sides from the same country in the same period.
As top seeds, Manchester United and Arsenal will avoid holders AC Milan in the group stage as well as Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Lazio.
Despite the seeding there is still the possibility of United or Arsenal getting a very tough draw - it is possible they could be picked in a group with Inter Milan, Celtic and Real Sociedad.
Final arrangements for the draw for the Champions League will only be made a couple of hours before it actually takes place but it is virtually certain to be the same as in previous years with the 32 clubs in eight groups of four, with each group having one top-seeded club, one second seed, a third seed and a fourth seed. The teams that finish third in a group will drop down into the UEFA Cup.
Tug-of-war for Ferguson
Blackburn Rovers and Everton will go head to head to sign Barry Ferguson, though Rovers' greater clout in the market is likely to see them lure the Rangers captain to Ewood Park before Sunday's transfer deadline.
Rovers saw a second offer, worth around £6.5million, rejected yesterday for the 25-year-old with the Scottish champions holding out for nearer £8 million.
Everton entered the fray yesterday and had an initial £6 million bid rejected, and are expected to place a larger bid.
In brief ...
Portsmouth have taken Chelsea's £3.5-million midfielder Alexei Smertin on loan for the rest of the season. Leeds are hoping to sign Brazilian international Roque Junior from AC Milan. Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock has been given a four-match touchline ban by the FA and fined £300 over incidents last season with referees, in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, and during the Division One play-off final against Wolves. Former Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro has joined Qatar's Al Rayyan. Steve Marlet is joining Marseille, subject to a medical today, on loan from Fulham. Blackburn have completed the loan signing of Liverpool's Markus Babbel.
