23/08/2017 21:52, Report by Adam Higgins

The wait is almost over to discover which opponents Manchester United will face in the group stage of this season's UEFA Champions League.

The draw will take place on Thursday at 17:00 BST in Monaco, following the completion of the two-legged play-off round on Wednesday night.

After winning the UEFA Europa League to secure a return to Europe's elite competition, the Reds will be in Pot Two and could be drawn against last season's winners Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Juventus.

But, following last season's European success, Jose Mourinho's men do not fear anybody and fans may naturally already be dreaming about a possible place in the final in Kiev on 26 May, 2018.

With qualifying starting as early as June for some clubs, United are now one of 32 teams remaining in the UEFA Champions League, with the draw forming eight groups each consisting of four teams.

The Reds will avoid fellow Premier League teams Chelsea and Liverpool (Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are also in Pot two) as a result of the UEFA rule that two teams from the same country cannot be drawn against each other at this stage of the competition.

Pot one contains the holders and champions of the highest-ranked European nations, while the three remaining pots are seeded by UEFA's co-efficient rankings.   

Here's the breakdown of how the teams have been split up:

Pot 1: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Juventus, Monaco, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Spartak Moscow.

Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Sevilla.

Pot 3: Anderlecht, Besiktas, FC Basel, Liverpool, Napoli, Olympiakos, Roma, Tottenham Hotspur.

Pot 4: APOEL Nicosia, Celtic, CSKA Moscow, Feyenoord, FK Qarabag, NK Maribor, RB Leipzig, Sporting Lisbon.

The first games will take place on Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 September, with the group phase concluding with matchday six on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 December.

Details of United's fixtures will be confirmed soon after the draw has taken place.

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