Manchester United's dream and nightmare groups ahead of Champions League draw

Manchester United will be eagerly awaiting today's Champions League draw as they prepare for a return to Europe's elite competition.

Erik ten Hag secured a third-place Premier League finish in his debut season at Old Trafford as well as delivering a trophy with success in the Carabao Cup. The Reds have started this term with two wins and a defeat from their opening three matches ahead of a weekend trip to Arsenal.

The Gunners will join United in the Champions League draw as the pair, along with defending champions Manchester City and the final English representative Newcastle United, discover their group stage fate. United will be in pot two, with City in pot one, but the two Manchester rivals cannot meet in the group as teams from the same country cannot face each other until the last eight.

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United will therefore also avoid Newcastle from pot four along with the other seven sides in pot two - Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Porto, RB Leipzig, and Inter Milan.

Ten Hag and co will be be keen to avoid European heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern Munich from pot one. United wouldn't relish a trip to Sevilla, who knocked them out of the Europa League last season, while PSG and Napoli would also be tricky opponents. Benfica or Feyenoord are the gentler options with the latter perhaps the side United would pick if given the choice.

From pot three, United will be keen to avoid current Serie A leaders AC Milan while Italian outfit Lazio would represent tricky opponents. FC Copenhagen would offer a narrative given the Rasmus Hojlund connection while PSV showed their ability in dismantling Rangers in the final qualifying round.