LONDON: Raheem Sterling is confident Manchester City can cope with their hectic start to the new campaign.

City are set to head to Steaua Bucharest in the first leg of their Champions League play-off round days after kicking off the English Premier League season at home to Sunderland.

After finishing fourth under Manuel Pellegrini, City – now with new boss Pep Guardiola at the helm – must earn their right to again take their place among the elite clubs of European football in the lucrative group stages as they look to go one better than last season’s semi-final

However, there will be little downtime for Guardiola’s squad, who finish their pre-season friendlies against Arsenal in Gothenburg on Sunday.

City begin the new domestic campaign with the visit of Sunderland on August 13, which kicks off in the 5:30pm slot on Saturday.

Busy time

With the first leg in Romania on Tuesday August 16 followed by a lunchtime trip to Stoke on August 20 ahead of the return European tie back at the Etihad Stadium four days later, Sterling accepts the City players will have to refocus quickly to make sure the campaign is not derailed before it has a chance to build momentum.

He said: “It is right in at the deep end, with three massive games and ones in which we will try to get the result. The first, at home against Sunderland, is a massive one to kickstart our season. Hopefully we get a few wins and make our spirit be right out there.”

As for the Steaua clash, Sterling added: “It is a good draw for us, but I think it will be a difficult one, away first. For Steaua to be in that draw must mean they are a top team. Over the coming week, the manager will definitely show us more on them, so there is loads of homework to do in preparation for the game.”

Guardiola is a two-time Champions League winning coach with Barcelona, but his Bayern Munich side lost in the semi-finals for each of the past three seasons.

Former champions

City are out to secure a place in the group stages for what would be a sixth straight campaign.

Steaua, European Cup winners in 1986, were runners-up behind Astra Giurgiu in the Romanian top flight and defeated Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round.

Steaua coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said: “I wanted any team but City. We will have a positive approach and let’s see what will be. We have a chance and for sure our players will have extra motivation.”

In the other side of Friday’s draw, Celtic were handed a tie against Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva. Brendan Rodgers’ men beat Kazakh team Astana in the third qualifying round.

Dundalk, meanwhile, are aiming to become the first team from the Republic of Ireland to qualify for the group stage of the Champions League and will face Legia Warsaw of Poland as reward for a shock victory over BATE Borisov.

The Lilywhites, who currently lead the League of Ireland, were the team with lowest coefficient rating in the draw and will play their home leg on August 17 at the 51,700-seater Aviva Stadium in Dublin, rather than at the 4,500-capacity Oriel Park.

The 10 play-off winners will join 22 automatic entrants in the group stage, which will include English champions Leicester for the first time.

Other notable ties see Porto, who won the tournament under Jose Mourinho in 2004, face Italian side Roma while Villarreal play Monaco, with the losers set to go into the Europa League.

UEFA Champions League Play-Off Draw:

Ludogorets v Plzen

Celtic v Hapoel Beer Sheva

FC Copenhagen v Apoel Nicosia

Dundalk v Legia Warsaw

Dinamo Zagreb v FC Red Bull Salzburg

Steaua Bucharest v Manchester City

FC Porto v Roma

Ajax v Rostov

Young Boys v Borussia Monchengladbach

Villarreal v Monaco

Europa League

** West Ham will face Astra Giurgiu, also of Romania, in the Europa League play-off round.

Europa League play-off draw:

Astana v BATE

FC Midtjylland v Osmanlispor

AS Trencin v Rapid Vienna

Arouca v Olympiacos

Lokomotiva Zagreb v Genk

Vojvodina v AZ

Dinamo Tbilisi v PAOK Salonika

AEK v Liberec

FK Austria Vienna v Rosenborg

Beitar Jerusalem v St Etienne

AA Gent v Shkendija

Istanbul Basaksehir v Shakhtar Donetsk

FC Astra Giurgiu v West Ham

Sonderjyske v Sparta Prague

Fenerbahce v Grasshoppers

Sassuolo v Crvena Zvezda

Brondby v Panathinaikos

IFK Goteborg v FK Karabakh

Krasnodar v Partizani Tirana

Maccabi Tel-Aviv v Hajduk Split

Slavia Prague v Anderlecht

Maribor v Gabala

# # # # #