Man Utd to face Deportivo again in Champions League

Manchester United will again face Deportivo Coruna following UEFA's announcement of the seedings for the draw of the second phase of the Champions League on Thursday.

The draw will be held in Geneva at 1030 GMT on Friday but because of UEFA's draw criteria several of the permutations are guaranteed.

The rules state that teams cannot play another from the same nation or play a team from the same first phase group. With four Spanish, four Italian, three English and two German teams in the final 16, the options are severely limited and the rules have to be ratified by UEFA later on Thursday.

Manchester United were named among the top four seeds on Thursday, along with Spanish trio Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

With Deportivo, seeded in the third group, unable to play a fellow Spanish side, they are assured of being placed in United's group.

The two met in last season's quarter-finals, United winning 2-0 in Spain and 3-2 in the return at Old Trafford. They also met in the group stage the previous season, when Deportivo won 2-1 at home and 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Also in the group will be one of Juventus or Inter Milan and one of Lokomotiv Moscow, Ajax Amsterdam or Basel.

Holders Real Madrid, the top seeds, will face either last season's runners-up Bayer Leverkusen or fellow Germans Borussia Dortmund, from the third-seeded group.

The second phase begins on November 26 and 27 with the second round of matches two weeks later before the competition takes a break until February.