Rangers manager Alex McLeish has been handed the chance to pit his wits against former mentor, Alex Ferguson after the Champions League draw was made this afternoon.
In a clash already billed as the latest installment of the 'Battle of Britain' meetings between English and Scottish teams in Europe, United will meet the SPL champions in Group E.
McLeish was a star player under Ferguson at Aberdeen. Panathinaikos of Greece and Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart complete the group.
Arsenal face a trickier task to progress with two daunting trips to eastern Europe in Group B, having been paired with Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev and Lokomotiv Moscow.
Dennis Bergkamp's reluctance to fly is likely to rule him out of the away clashes against Ukrainian giants Kiev and Russian side Lokomotiv - and will also raise question marks about his participation in the Gunners' clash against his former club at the San Siro.
Big spending Chelsea, who have spent around stg£100 million on a stream of top players over the past two months, were drawn with Italy's Lazio, a former club of new signing Hernan Crespo.
Celtic's biggest challenge is likely to come from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. The Parkhead side will also play Lyon and Anderlecht in the group stage of the competition, giving them a reasonable chance of progression.
European champions AC Milan will play four-times winners Ajax in the group stage. Milan, six times winners of the title, met Ajax in the quarter-finals of last year's competition and squeezed through against the exciting young Dutch side by winning 3-2 in the San Siro.
Real, probably the most star-studded team in the history of European soccer, were drawn in the same group as UEFA Cup winners Porto, Olympique Marseille - winners in 1993 - and Partizan Belgrade.
Group A
Bayern Munich
Lyon
Celtic
Anderlecht
Group B
Arsenal
Inter Milan
Dynamo Kiev
Lokomotiv Moscow
Group C
Deportivo la Coruna
PSV Eindhoven
AEK Athens
Monaco
Group D
Juventus
Galatasaray
Olympiakos
Real Sociedad
Group E
Manchester United
Panathinaikos
Rangers
Stuttgart
Group F
Real Madrid
Porto
Marseille
Partizan Belgrade
Group G
Lazio
Chelsea
Sparta Prague
Besiktas
Group H
AC Milan
Celta Vigo
Ajax
Brugge