Manchester United Champions League draw: Who could they face in best-case and worst-case group stage scenarios?

Who could United face in the group stage of the 2020/21 Champions League?

Manchester United will learn their Champions League opponents on Thursday (PA)

Manchester United will return to the Champions League on Thursday when they discover their opponents for the group stage, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hoping for something similar to their run to the quarter-finals two seasons ago that helped secure his permanent role as manager.

Solskjaer holds fond memories in European competition from his playing days courtesy of his famous winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final, but more recently he steered United to a thrilling comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the 2018/19 last-16 after recovering from a 2-0 deficit to progress on away goals.

PSG are one of the sides who could pose United a real problem in the group stage though, with the 2019/20 Champions League finalists among the teams in pot one who United will have to face.

Alongside the French champions sit Bayern Munich, the dominant German force who regained the European crown in August thanks to their victory over PSG, while fellow giants Real Madrid and Juventus are also present alongside respective Russian and Portuguese champions Zenit St Petersburg and FC Porto and the reigning Europa League winners in Sevilla.

The only team in pot one who they cannot meet is Liverpool, given Uefa’s policy not to allow teams from the same league to meet in the group stage, while Manchester City and Chelsea join them in pot two.

Along with one of the pot one heavyweights, United will also meet a team from pot three and pot four, with a number of tricky ties potentially lying in wait for Solskjaer’s side. Last season’s semi-finalists RB Leipzig are among the heavy-hitters in pot three, along with Serie A duo Inter Milan and Atalanta, while Lokomotiv Moscow and Marseille will pose difficult challenges in pot four.

Who could Manchester United face in the Champions League?

Pot one: Bayern Munich, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Juventus, PSG, Zenit St Petersburg, FC Porto

Pot three: Dynamo Kyiv, Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig, Inter Milan, Olympiacos, Lazio, Krasnodar, Atalanta

Pot 4: Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, Club Brugge, Borussia Monchengladbach, Istanbul Basaksehir, Rennes, Ferencvaros

Best-case scenario

FC Porto, Manchester United, Krasnodar, Ferencvaros

Worst-case scenario

Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Marseille