The Champions League draw takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco

Manchester United have been handed a relatively kind start to their Champions League campaign after drawing Benfica, FC Basel and CSKA Moscow in the group stages.

Similarly Liverpool, who have been missing from Europe’s elite competition for two seasons, face one of the easier groups alongside Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and Slovenian side Maribor.

Manchester City fans will face a long trip to Ukraine to play Shakhtar Donetsk, as well as tricky ties against Napoli and Feyenoord.

While Chelsea will take on Atletico Madrid, Roma and Qarabag in Group C.

Tottenham face a 'Group of Death' after being drawn against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, with Apoel Nicosia making up the numbers in Group H.

The Europa League appears to be the best Celtic can hope for after being handed a very difficult draw against Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-German and Anderlecht.

See full details of the draw below:

See the Champions League group stage draw as it happened here.

Here is everything you need to know about the draw:

When is the draw?

The draw for this year’s Champions League group stages takes place on Thursday 24 August at 5pm BST (6pm CET) and is scheduled to last two and a quarter hours.

Where does the draw take place?

It takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

Where can I watch it?

You can watch the draw on BT Sport 2 or via a live stream on Uefa.com.

How does the draw work?

The draw consists of 32 teams comprised of 22 direct entrants and 10 via play-offs.

Those teams are divided into four pots and then drawn into eight different groups – with one team from each pot.

No team can draw another from their own country or from the same pot.

The event in Monaco will also see the Uefa Men’s Player of the Year and Women’s Player of the Year announced – as well as the top player in each position of the past season.

Who is in which pot?

Pot 1 comprises of the current holders (Real Madrid) and the champions of the other top eight leagues in Europe based on Uefa’s coefficient rankings. The rest are ranked in order according to the Uefa club coefficient.

Pot 1

Real Madrid (ESP), Bayern München (GER), Juventus (ITA), Benfica (POR), Chelsea (ENG), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Monaco (FRA), Spartak Moscow (RUS)

Pot 2

Barcelona (ESP), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Sevilla (ESP), Manchester City (ENG), Porto (POR), Manchester United (ENG)

Pot 3

Napoli (ITA), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), Basel (SUI), Olympiakos (GRE), Anderlecht (BEL), Liverpool (ENG), Roma (ITA), Beşiktaş (TUR)

Pot 4

Celtic (SCO), CSKA Moskva (RUS), Sporting (POR), Apoel (CYP), Feyenoord (NED), Maribor (SVN), Qarabağ (AZE), RB Leipzig (GER)

Which pots are the British teams in?

Chelsea, as champions of England, are the only side in Pot 1. Manchester City and Manchester United will be in a strong-looking Pot 2. Tottenham join Liverpool in Pot 3, while Celtic are in Pot 4.

You can see some group stage scenarios (best and worst) for the following clubs by clicking on the corresponding links: Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United.

When do the group games start?

The group stage games will be split into six match days with games to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights:

12-13 September

26-27 September

17-18 October

31 October-1 November

21-22 November

5-6 December