Manchester United get favourable Champions League draw, but which side will show up?

Manchester United are grouped with German champions Bayern Munich, Danish champions FC Copenhagen and Turkish champions Galatasaray in Group A of the Champions League following Thursday's draw in Monaco.

United have played all three opponents several times, with the 1999 final being the most famous encounter against Bayern. It's by no means the toughest of the eight groups, but United can expect febrile atmospheres in Munich, Copenhagen and Istanbul, three of the loudest venues in European football. United have played in all three and not won a single game in any of them, but it’ll at least make a change from Spain where United’s last four European away games took place.

A visit from United will mean all three opponents will be at their best, but it was always so. Veterans of the Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering sides will tell you that Galatasaray in 1993 was the loudest atmosphere they ever experienced as players. Copenhagen and Bayern boast some of the best organised, loud and influential supporters.

It’s difficult to say how good – or bad – this United side are. Are we looking at the team who went toe-to-toe with Spanish champions Barcelona and knocked them out of the Europa League only six months ago, earning lavish praise from Barca coach Xavi for being one of the best sides in the world? Or the side which meekly surrendered a 2-0 lead against mid-table Sevilla to lose 5-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals? The team which looked so comfortable in the League Cup final against Newcastle United in the same week as the Barcelona game, or the one which couldn’t win away against any of the Premier League’s top nine sides last season?

United may have won two from their opening three games in the Premier League, but fans