Champions League draw: What are the best and worst case scenarios for Manchester City?

And who will Manuel Pellegrini be hoping to see come out of the hat?

Manuel Pellegrini says that financial restrictions have reduced the amount of his transfer budget (AP)

Despite all of the heavy investment in recent years, Manchester City are yet to truly make their mark in European football.

Manuel Pellegrini's side reached the last-16 last season but were outclassed by Barcelona and exited with a whimper.

Their poor showing, last season was the first time they'd ever gone past the group stage in Europe, means City will again be in Pot 2 for Thursday's draw.

LIVE: Champions League draw

City cannot be drawn against other English teams, ruling out Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal if they qualify, but it does leave them with the prospect of facing Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich.

But there are still a couple of dangerous scenarios that the Blues will be keen to avoid.

Worst case scenario for Manchester City:

Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax, Roma

Best case scenario for Manchester City:

Benfica, Manchester City, Olympiacos, Maribor

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Pot 1 Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Porto

Pot 2 Schalke 04, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Basel,Zenit Saint Petersburg, Manchester City

Pot 3 Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow, Ajax, Liverpool, Sporting CP, Galatasaray, Athletic Bilbao

Pot 4 Anderlecht, Roma, APOEL, BATE Borisov, Ludogorets Razgrad, Maribor, Monaco, Malmo FF