MOURINHO REUNION IN OFFING

Jose Mourinho - could face English club.

Jose Mourinho is lying in wait for Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in today's Champions League draw for the first knockout round.

The draw will see the sides that finished top of their group - including the three English clubs left in the competition - paired with a runner-up.

That means there is a good chance of another encounter between an English club and Mourinho's Inter Milan side.

Mourinho's Inter crossed swords with Sir Alex Ferguson's United at the same stage last season but ended up losing 2-0 in the second leg after a goalless draw at the San Siro.

Among other possible opponents, Inter's city neighbours AC Milan have plenty of European Cup pedigree, although they are having some struggles this season.

Bayern Munich and Lyon, who effectively put paid to Liverpool's European campaign, will also be ones to avoid.

The two Spanish giants - reigning champions Barcelona and group stage top-scorers Real Madrid - topped their groups meaning there is no possible clash with Cristiano Ronaldo before the quarter-finals.

Bordeaux, the club with most parsimonious defence and most points from their group, are also out of the equation until the quarter-finals.

In the Europa League, Liverpool face the prospect of potentially tough opponents in after UEFA confirmed they will not be seeded.

Poor goal difference in the Champions League groups means Rafael Benitez's side miss out on being among the 16 top seeds for the new-look competition which replaces the UEFA Cup.

It means Liverpool, along with Everton and Fulham who are also unseeded, face playing strong teams including a trio from Germany - Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg and Hamburg - as well as Italian giants Juventus, holders Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine and Turkish club Galatasaray.

A UEFA spokesman said: "Liverpool will not be one of the seeded teams. The top seeds are the 12 groups winners from the Europa League and the best four third-placed sides from the Champions League.

"Among the clubs dropping down from the Champions League, Juventus and Unirea Urziceni won more points than Liverpool, while Marseille and Wolfsburg had a better goal difference."

The seeded teams are also given the advantage of playing the second leg at home.