Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth chief executive, is delighted with his side's draw in the Uefa Cup group stages after the South Coast club were handed a plum tie against AC Milan.

"It is a good group all the way round," he said. "If you look at the teams there are 40 good sides in the Uefa Cup, it is a tough competition to come through. But we will enjoy it and I am sure our fans will pinch themselves thinking Portsmouth are going to play AC Milan in European competition."

Luka Modric will come up against his old club after Tottenham Hotspur were drawn with Dinamo Zagreb in Group D. Juande Ramos' team were one of the top seeds in the draw but are currently bottom of the Premier League.

Steve McLaren will pit his wits against Mark Hughes after FC Twente were drawn in Group A with Manchester City. "It's one of the toughest draws, but we've got a great draw and it's very exciting," McClaren said. "I've just come back to England to catch up on football here, and the signings Man City have made are massive and they are expected to do very well. It should be a fantastic occasion for us."

Paul Aldridge, the Manchester City chief operating officer, is confident the club can do well in the competiton. "Mark [Hughes] will know a fair bit about all of the teams we're up against already, and that's a big plus for us, but they'll all be tough games," he said. "We're still busy with the process of meeting up with the other clubs in our group and sorting out the matchdays. We just need to work out where we are when and then we can start looking forward to playing the games."

Aston Villa face established names in Ajax, Hamburg and Slavia Prague, plus Slovakia's MŠK Žilina.

Group stage draw

Group A

Schalke 04
Paris St Germain
Manchester City
Racing Santander
FC Twente

Group B

Benfica
Olympiacos
Galatasaray
Hertha Berlin
Metalist Kharkiv

Group C