How the Premier League teams will fare in the Champions League group stage

Can the Premier League rebound from a poor showing in Europe last season? Perhaps, though Thursday's Champions League draw certainly made that task incredibly difficult for a couple of teams.

Related: Champions League draw, complete results - Manchester City gets Juventus; Bayern to meet Arsenal

Two others, however, will love their chances of adding to the Premier League's coefficient ranking.

Here's what each of England's teams will be facing in the group stage of this season's Champions League.

Chelsea

Chelsea was the only team from England to be placed in Pot 1 of the Champions League draw, and was rewarded with the easiest group out of the Premier League's representatives.

Most interestingly for manager Jose Mourinho is a return to FC Porto, where he introduced himself to the world with an unexpected Champions League triumph in 2004. His first appointment as Chelsea's manager came days later.

Once again, FC Porto's summer transfer activity is most notable for its mass exodus of talent. Arguably the greatest developer of young European and South American talent, the team has seen the likes of Danilo, Jackson Martinez, and Alex Sandro depart. That would prove a huge loss to any club.

Elsewhere in Group G, Chelsea faces two challenging but ultimately winnable ties against Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev and Israeli champions Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Manchester City

From the easiest group to the toughest. Manchester City hasn't had the luck of the draw in its first five Champions League campaigns.

City faces Italian champions and last year's runner-up Juventus. The clubs last met competitively in December 2010, when they played the second of two 1-1 draws in the Europa League group stage.

Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, and Simone Zaza form an expensive triumvirate to pick from up front, and the free acquisition of Sami Khedira from Real Madrid is a shrewd bit of business. The Old Lady is no pushover.

Borussia Monchengladbach, with its young and largely unproven talent in attack, is seen as a weak link in this group, but Sevilla, which has won two consecutive Europa Leagues, makes up an incredibly tough group. The Andalusian side's €30-million sale of Carlos Bacca to AC Milan, however, places more emphasis on recent free acquisition Fernando Llorente from fellow Group D side Juventus.

Arsenal

Arsenal and Bayern Munich have become very much acquainted over the past few years, after Arsene Wenger's team was eliminated from the competition by Bayern in the Round of 16 stage in both 2013 and 2014.

The Bavarian outfit will be itching to make amends for a semifinal exit at the hands of Barcelona last season, and it's difficult to envision Bayern finishing anywhere else but the top of Group F.

Arsenal can finish second. In Petr Cech, the Gunners now have a goalkeeper of top European pedigree, and Alexis Sanchez is capable of winning games on his own at times.

If Arsenal achieves that feat, it has to overcome the challenge posed by Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos. With the latter, Arsenal has some patchy history. The North London club has lost all three of its previous Champions League away games against the Greek outfit, and manager Marco Silva has bought well in the summer.

Manchester United

Manchester United returns to Champions League action after a one-year absence - the first time since the 1995-96 season - and will be fancied to take first place in Group B.

There will be an early reunion for Memphis Depay as United makes the trip to PSV Eindhoven on matchday one, almost three months to the day after he signed from the Dutch club.

The exits of Dutch trio Memphis, Karim Rekik, and last year's club player of the year, Georginio Wijnaldum, sees vital components of PSV's Eredivisie-winning team gone. The signing of 2014-15 Eredivisie player of the player Andres Guardado on a permanent deal was well-received by the PSV support, but overall, Phillip Cocu's side is greatly weakened from last season.

Manchester City could actually aid bitter rivals United in progressing from the group if it completes the signing of Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg before the end of the summer transfer window, but if Bas Dost and Max Kruse quickly forge a strong partnership, they can be a real threat for the Red Devils.

In CSKA Moscow, United racks up more air miles than they would have liked, but the Russian team is certainly beatable opposition.