The UEFA Champions League Groups Ranked

The draw for the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League group stage was held Thursday in Monaco and it gave football fans the chance to see many marquee matchups like Real Madrid vs. AC Milan, Bayern Munich vs. Roma, and many more.

But, instead of focusing on the matchups, here is a preview of how tough each group is for the top contenders like Inter, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and more.

8. Group D

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BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 25: Former Barcelona president Joan Laparta (L) holds the 2009-2010 La Liga trophy with Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola during a lap of honour before the Joan Gamper Trophy match between Barcelona and AC Milan at Camp Nou stad

Barcelona are faced with a pretty easy road to the knockout round being grouped with Panathanaikos, Copenhagen, and Rubin Kazan.

The only tough match for the Catalans will be going to Kazan, but after that, Pep Guardiola's team should go through easily.

7. Group F

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WIGAN, ENGLAND - AUGUST 21: Frank Lampard of Chelsea celebrates victory after the Barclays Premier League match between Wigan Athletic and Chelsea at DW Stadium on August 21, 2010 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Getty Images for Chelsea FC)

Chelsea is the favorite in this group that also contains Marseille, Spartak Moscow, and Zilina.

Marseille could give Chelsea a challenge, but will most likely be fighting with Spartak for a spot in the knockout or being relegated to the Europa League.

Zilina is just along for the ride and have a slim chance of pulling an upset.

6. Group E

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MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 22: Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich reacts after his team lost the UEFA Champions League Final match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Inter Milan at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on May 22, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Get

Bayern Munich and Roma are the two big guns in this group.

Also joining them are Basel and CFR Cluj.

Bayern are out to avenge their second place finish last season, whether it can be accomplished is another question.

Cluj pulled the surprise upset against Roma in 2008, but Roma should be more aware of Cluj's quality now and Basel just does not have the quality of Bayern or Roma.

5. Group H

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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 21: Theo Walcott of Arsenal celebrates his second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Blackpool at The Emirates Stadium on August 21, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Arsenal's draw in Group H may look easy at first glance but as the old saying goes, do not judge a book by its cover.

Shakhtar Donetsk possess a striker that is quite familiar with the Gunners in Eduardo who will look to have big game against Arsenal.

Braga took down perennial group stage members Sevilla in the playoff round and could mount the Cinderella story of the tournament.

Partizan Belgrade might not play a huge factor, but you never know.

4. Group C

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 25: Harold Mayne Nicholls - Leader of the FIFA Inspection team (2nd R), Manchester United Chief Executive David Gill (R), Chief Executive of the England Bid Andy Anson (L) and Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson visit

Manchester United are clear favorites in this group that could see any of the other three teams finish second in the group.

Valencia are weakened by the loss of both David Villa and David Silva.

Rangers have been disappointing in Europe over the past few seasons.

Bursaspor, the Turkish champions, could pull a shocker because Turkish clubs mostly always put up a fight in the group stage.

3. Group B

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LYON, FRANCE - AUGUST 07: Jimmy Briand of Olympique Lyonnais in action during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyonnais and AS Monaco FC at Gerland Stadium on August 7, 2010 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

This group is really a toss up.

Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, and Hapoel Tel Aviv make up this intriguing foursome.

Lyon makes the Final 16 regularly but will face a tough test from all three teams.

Benfica has a good mix of veterans and young players filled with big game experience from South Africa.

Schalke are back in the Champions League and have added Raul to their squad, and if anyone knows how to score goals, it is Raul.

Hapoel possess a very talented keeper in Vincent Enyeama, who impressed at the World Cup with Nigeria this summer.

2. Group G

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THESSALONIKI, GREECE - AUGUST 04: Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz of Ajax with the ball during the Uefa Champions League qualifying match between Paok and Ajax at Toumba Stadium on August 4, 2010 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

People are billing this as the Group of Death but if you closely compare it to Group A, it really is not.

Yes, you have Real Madrid and AC Milan who are two powerhouses of European football.

Ajax was good and until they prove they are back to their prime, I would not count on them to contend unless Luis Suarez has another season like last year.

Auxerre is a real wild card that could be overlooked because of the names in the group.

1. Group A

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MILAN, ITALY - AUGUST 21: Diego Alberto Milito, Wesley Sneijder and Marco Materazzi of FC Internazionale Milano celebrate after the Supercoppa Italiana match between Inter and Roma at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on August 21, 2010 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by

Welcome to the Champions League Tottenham and Twente.

Inter, this is your present for winning the title last season.

Bremen, good luck finding a replacement for Mesut Ozil.

This is the Group of Death.

All four teams could advance to the knockout round and do not be surprised if Group A comes down to the last match day.