Lazio and Monaco among the dangers

Having finished fourth in the Premier League, a tricky two-legged Champions League play-off round stands between United and the group stages of Europe's most prestigious club competition.

Fans of the club will be desperate to avoid a second successive season in the European wilderness, but progression will be far from a formality.

If United are to reclaim a place amongst the elite, there can be little room for error yet, by virtue of their impressive UEFA coefficient ranking (10), several dangerous sides will be kept apart from United in the draw on 7 August.

All UEFA coefficient rankings shown in brackets.

AVOIDED:

Valencia (12)
Bayer Leverkusen (16)
Shakhtar Donetsk (18)
Ajax (26)

However, there are still a number of daunting potential opponents United could now face in the final play-off round, which are scheduled to take place on 18 and 19 August and 25 and 26 August.

POSSIBLE OPPONENTS:

Club Brugge (51)
Sporting Lisbon (33)
BSC Young Boys (69)
Sparta Prague (72)
CSKA Moscow (34)
Fenerbahce (75)
Monaco (68)
Anderlecht (41)
Rapid Vienna (121)
Lazio (40)
Panathinaikos (100)

Italian outfit Lazio, who secured their place with a thrilling 4-2 victory against Napoli in the final round of Serie A fixtures, would represent a significant test.

So too would Monaco, who qualified for last season's quarter-final stage at the expense of Arsenal. Meanwhile, trips to Turkey and Moscow during the early stages of the campaign are unlikely to be looked upon favourably by United.

Should Louis van Gaal's side fail to emerge victorious, they will enter the Europa League group stages automatically.

Which side would you like to avoid in the play-off round?