The Red Devils have the chance to compete for this again (Getty)

Manchester United have returned to the Champions League and with that comes the excitement of the group stage draw, which will be held today.

Today all 32 teams will find out who they will be playing home and away as they seek a place in the knock-out stage of Europe’s elite tournament.

A few tweaks have been made to the seeding system, notably that league champions go into Pot 1 rather than those with the highest Uefa co-efficient (which is based on performances in Europe over five years).

So while Chelsea, Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich might be among the top seeds, many seriously big hitters are lower down.

Mourinho will be eagerly awaiting today’s draw (Getty)

It means there could be some excellent ties in the group stage – but potentially some very tough draws. So just how bad might it be for Manchester United, who are in Pot 2?

WORST CASE SCENARIO

Real Madrid, Napoli, RB Leipzig

What a nightmare draw this would be. Real Madrid are enjoying one of the most successful spells in their history and have a team that looks virtually unstoppable (as United themselves found out in the Uefa Super Cup). They are the team to avoid from Pot 1.

Real Madrid lifted the Champions League for a second successive year in May (Getty)

Napoli, who finished just five points off winning Serie A last season, are blessed with lethal players like Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Marek Hamsik. Yet they find themselves down in Pot 3 and threaten to create a group of death.

RB Leipzig are the stand-out team from Pot 4. On Uefa co-efficient CSKA Moscow are the best team from the bottom seeds, but the German outfit look like they could do some real damage.  After their promotion to the Bundesliga last season they excelled, with Naby Keita the stand-out player.

Naby Keita has been among the most in-demand players this summer (Getty)

So what’s the best Jose Mourinho can hope for?

BEST CASE SCENARIO

Spartak Moscow, Anderlecht, Qarabag

According to Uefa’s own co-efficent, Spartak Moscow are not even in the top 100 sides in Europe. Yet the 105th ranked side find themselves in Pot 1 – definitely the one to get.

Belgian side Anderlecht are the best option from Pot 3, with the Belgian outfit never troubling the top sides. United played them in the Europa League quarter-finals last season and came through 3-2 on aggregate.

There are a few whipping boys in Pot 4 but the stand out has to be Qarabag. They are the first ever side from Azerbaijan to reach the group stage after they shocked FC Copenhagen in the play-offs. If Manchester United don’t get them, Maribor and APOEL Nicosia look good options.

Qarabag celebrate their shock progression to the group stage (Getty)

The draw takes place this afternoon at 5pm BST. All the sides involved – including five from England – are below…

Pot 1

Real Madrid
Bayern Munich
Chelsea
Juventus
Benfica
Monaco
Spartak Moscow
Shakhtar Donetsk

Pot 2

Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
PSG
Borussia Dortmund
Sevilla
Manchester City
Porto
Manchester United

Pot 3

Napoli
Tottenham
Basel
Olympiakos
Anderlecht
Liverpool
Roma
Besiktas

Pot 4

Celtic
CSKA Moscow
Qarabag
Sporting Lisbon
APOEL Nicosia
Feyenoord
Maribor
RB Leipzig

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